[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 95 (Tuesday, June 4, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E591-E592]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING THE LEGACY OF A GREAT NATIVE SON AND THE OUTSTANDING LIFE 
                     OF THE LATE VICTOR JOHN LABAT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. TROY A. CARTER

                              of louisiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 4, 2024

  Mr. CARTER of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 
life of Victor John Labat, born in New Orleans, Louisiana to parents 
Victor and Jeanne Victor Labat, on November 24, 1932. At the tender age 
of 91 in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, he recently passed away on Sunday, 
April 21, 2024. A proud graduate of Xavier Preparatory High School and 
Xavier University of Louisiana with a degree in mathematics, two key 
Catholic Institutions, both founded by Saint Katharine Drexel and the 
Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.

[[Page E592]]

  During his college days, he served as the artistic designer and 
director of the Xavier Yearbook, where he proudly displayed his unique 
passion for drawing and painting. His professional successes spanned 
across varying careers In his early years, he was a construction 
company owner, designing and building homes around the city of New 
Orleans. He later moved his family of five to Washington, D.C., with an 
assignment to desegregate court ordered schools through southern states 
under the Nixon Administration. His career included being appointed 
Assistant to Leon Panetta, Director of the Office of Civil Rights under 
the Secretary of U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources (HEW). 
The next assignment took him and his family to Dakar, Senegal, West 
Africa where he served as Director of the Peace Corps for five years.
  With a wealth of international experience under his belt, he 
established Labat Anderson Inc., one of the country's most successful 
government contracting firms, creating offices and jobs throughout the 
U.S. and internationally. The success of Labat Anderson Inc. led to 
Labat Africa Ltd. in Johannesburg, South Africa. Labat Africa Ltd. is 
the first African American co-owned company to open upon Nelson 
Mandela's presidency and to trade on the South African Stock Exchange.
  Victor retired to his family's hometown of Bay St. Louis, MS, though 
he spent a tremendous amount of time in his hometown, New Orleans, 
welcomed and cared for by family and friends. A vibrant man, that still 
enjoyed international travel until his passing, found peace in 
painting, fine dining and French wines, motorcycle riding, and laughing 
out loud with his family and friends. He had just completed his first 
soon to be published book on his family lineage titled, ``Is That So? 
From the Mississippi Gulf Coast, A Portrait of an American Family 
through Race, Education, Power, Politics, Religion and Class.''
  Victor is preceded in death by his parents, and a younger brother, 
Michael L. Labat, Sr. He is survived by his three children, Carla Labat 
(George Dines), Lori Labat and Yancey Labat (Andrea Menotti), three 
granddaughters, Akira Scott, Eliza and Serenna Menotti Labat; a 
brother, Joseph A. Labat, MD (Dr. Deidre Dumas), sister-in-law, 
Constance ``Connie'' Ray Labat, Dorothy Martel Labat, Judi Gerhardt; 
and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, friends and associates.
  I am proud to have spent time and growing up with mentors from this 
phenomenal family, as well as their children during my college days, 
always fascinated by their accomplishments. I am honored to document 
the incredible life of Victor J. Labat, a life well-lived.

                          ____________________