Early life
White was born inCareer
In 2005, White launched CenLamar, a self-published political commentary website about Louisiana. Although the website was never a professional venture, his work as a freelance blogger eventually attracted statewide attention and notoriety. A decade later, when he shuttered the publication, the site had attracted more than two million readers. In 2012, White was the last person to engage in an online argument with the Conservative (politics), conservative new media mogul Andrew Breitbart, minutes before he unexpectedly died. Breitbart's final tweet is an apology to White for calling him a "putz". Later that year, White first exposed problems in Louisiana voucher schools, including Light City Academy, which was led by a self-proclaimed "prophet" who taught students how to become "prophets." Light City Academy was closely associated with several questionable nonprofit organizations; there were questions about the financing of the school. Following White's report, Light City Academy was prohibited from accepting any additional voucher students. In October 2014, White advocated on behalf of Texas Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Governor of Texas, gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis (politician), Wendy Davis, who was defeated in 2014 by Republican Party (United States), Republican Greg Abbott. Davis featured White as a speaker about disability rights and Governor-elect Abbott's record on the Americans with Disabilities Act. White wrote for the ''Houston Chronicle'' about his disability and the identity politics surrounding disabilities.Steve Scalise controversy
On December 29, 2014, White published evidence on ''CenLamar'' that Representative Steve Scalise had attended an international White supremacy, white supremacist conference in 2002. Scalise admitted his attendance to ''The Washington Post''.Bobby Jindal portrait
On February 3, 2015, White tweeted a photograph of a portrait of former Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. The portrait, which White incorrectly described as the governor's official portrait, had been displayed prominently at the entrance to his office in the state Capitol. The portrait depicted Jindal, an Indian-American, as significantly more light-skinned than he appears, spurring a national discussion about racial identity and representation. In June 2017, White permanently closed his website CenLamar and launched a professional nonprofit news publication, The Bayou Brief. On September 10, 2018, White uncovered evidence that bot accounts had been inundating Twitter with identical messages of support for U.S. Senator Ted Cruz during the middle of his intense campaign against Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke. White's tweet about this suspicious online activity was shared more than 35,000 times and had been read by more than 3.5 million people within a day.Cindy Hyde-Smith public hanging remarks
On November 11, 2018, White published a ten-second video clip of interim U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi at a small gathering in Tupelo. The video shows the end of a local cattle rancher praising the senator. Hyde-Smith then says, "If he invited me to a public hanging, I'd be on the front row." White's publication of her comments quickly went viral, which many understood to be a clear reference to lynchings, and Hyde-Smith, whose opponent is an African American, was swiftly condemned by civil rights leaders and organizations across the country. Hyde-Smith refused to apologize, and instead, she claimed her comment was an "exaggerated expression of regard".References
Further reading
*BBCExternal links