Hundreds come out to pay their respects to Caleb Wilson during celebration of life and funeral services

Many call for change in the wake of Caleb Wilson’s death during an alleged hazing incident.
On Saturday, well over 700 people descended upon the Pilgrim Baptist Church in Kenner, La., to pay their respects at the funeral of Caleb Wilson, a 20-year-old college junior who died in late February.
Wilson, a Southern University and A&M College mechanical engineering student and trumpet player in the school’s marching band, was honored during a three-hour service that moved from grief to celebration with a second line led by members from the Southern University Human Jukebox marching band, Roots of Music and the Trombone Shorty Foundation, Nola.com reported.
“I know this man had a purpose, and he finished the purpose God brought him here for,” Deacon Aaron Harris said during the service.
Those in attendance included family, friends, former classmates and faculty from college and high school, and several local dignitaries, including New Orleans Saints owner and CEO Gayle Benson, who gave a reading from the Book of Wisdom. Local officials spotted included NOPD superintendent Shaun Ferguson, Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams, and Rep. Joseph Stagni.
Family and friends gathered remembered Wilson as a son, brother, friend, “quiet but mighty” “gentle giant” who had been “Black boy radiant” while local officials pledged to do more to stop hazing.
During his remarks, Stagni vowed to honor Wilson and his family on the Louisiana House of Representatives floor by seeking to harden the penalties for hazing. Currently, people found guilty of fatal criminal hazing can face a $10,000 fine and five years behind bars.
“Caleb’s purpose on Earth may have been fulfilled, but I don’t think ours have been,” Stagni said. “All of us can be instruments in word and action to strike down hazing for good in the name of this extraordinary young man.”
The day before Saturday’s funeral, Southern University held a celebration of life service that included a viewing. Those who gathered on Friday also included family, friends, and members of the community, including his former classmates. Local CBS affiliate WWL-TV 4 reported that the room was filled with emotion for those who knew him and those impacted throughout the wider community. 
“I will never say goodbye,” Connor Goodly, a friend of Wilson’s since elementary school, said, per the outlet. “Because wherever I go, I am putting him on my shoulders and taking him with me.”
Saturday’s funeral and Friday’s celebration of life arrived on the heels of multiple vigils following the tragic and sudden death.
Wilson, who it’s believed had been pledging Omega Psi Phi l Fraternity, Inc., at the time of his death, died on Feb. 27 after participating in an alleged hazing ritual off campus. Initial reports claimed he had collapsed while standing in a line in a local park. However, sources later told authorities the initial story had been fabricated and that, instead, Wilson had collapsed after receiving blows to the chest in a warehouse.
Since his death, three arrests have been made in connection with the case. Caleb McCray, 23, who is alleged to have delivered the fatal blow to Wilson, was arrested on March 6 and charged with manslaughter and criminal hazing. Last week, Kyle Thurman, 25, and Isaiah Smith, 28, have also been arrested and charged with one count of criminal hazing.
“The young men that did that to him — my heart goes out to them. I’m sure they did not set out to kill him,” funeral attendee Sylvia Holmes, whose grandson was among Wilson’s pallbearers, told Nola.com. “It’s not necessary to be brutalized to be part of a brotherhood.”
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