One of our forum members has pulled this amazing protest together. It will not be your typical protest however. Prepare to have fun...New Orleans style!
http://jazzfuneralfordemocracy.com
Bands:
TREME BRASS BAND
PAULA & THE PONTIACS
PANORAMA BRASS BAND
LEIGH "LITTLE QUEENIE" HARRIS
GOD'S LITTLE TOY
CHRISTINA FRIIS AND SAM PRICE
Speakers:
Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn, raised in a working-class family in Brooklyn, and flew bombing missions for the United States in World War II, an experience he now points to in shaping his opposition to war. In 1956, he became a professor at Spelman College in Atlanta, a school for black women, where he soon became involved in the Civil rights movement, which he participated in as an adviser to the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and chronicled, in his book SNCC: The New Abolitionists. Zinn collaborated with historian Staughton Lynd and mentored a young student named Alice Walker. When he was fired in 1963 for insubordination related to his protest work, he moved to Boston University, where he became a leading critic of the Vietnam War. He is perhaps best known for A People's History of the United States, which presents American history through the eyes of those he feels are outside of the political and economic establishment.
Kathy Kelly
Kathy Kelly, a pacifist from Chicago, IL, helped initiate Voices in the Wilderness, (www.vitw.org), a campaign begun in 1996 to end the UN/US sanctions against Iraq. Voices in the Wilderness organized 70 delegations to visit Iraq where they maintained a presence throughout the Operation Shock and Awe warfare. Kelly was imprisoned for three months in 2004 for protesting a military combat school at Fort Benning, GA. She is active with the Catholic Worker movement and, as a war tax refuser, has refused to pay all federal income tax since 1980.
Arthur Morrell
Arthur Morrell was born in New Orleans' French Quarter. His father, a merchant marine, and his mother, a full-time mother and housewife, raised eight children, six boys and two girls. He graduated from G. W. Carver Senior High School in 1961. He and his wife Cynthia Hedge Morrell have been married for 37 years; they have four sons and five grandchildren.
Arthur has served in the Louisiana State Legislature for over twenty years. In this position, he has promoted the welfare and prosperity of District 97 while serving on and leading a number of committees. As two-term Chair of the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus, he pushed the Caucus into the mainstream, transforming it into a formidable body. Morrell was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention for Bill Clinton and for Al Gore. He played a key role in the reelection of U.S. Senators John Breaux and Mary Landrieu, and the election of Governor Kathleen Blanco. Morrell has proved to be dependable, honest, and trustworthy during his years of public service.
Arthur is a veteran and ex-Special Forces Green Beret. He was the only US Senatorial candidate in Louisiana who had the courage to oppose the war on Iraq from the very beginning.
Dennis Kyne
Dennis Kyne was raised in a two bedroom apartment by his Jesuit educated father, in the Silicon Valley. He was an exceptional athlete in high school. After high school, Dennis filed in line behind his Grandfather and Uncle McGuire, both retired Colonels, multiple generations of Kyne's, and went into the United States Army where he was trained as a medic, became an emergency medical technician and awarded the Expert Field Medical Badge in 1989. Graduating from Airborne School and the Nuclear Chemical Biological Course, Dennis was sent to the School of Americas. Doc Kyne attained the esteemed title of United States Army Drill Sergeant by the time he was 24. The next year, he graduated cum laude from California's Oldest University, San Jose State. He was nominated from Active Duty to the United States Military Academy at West Point, and was a Dean's Scholar at SJSU. He served 15 years in the United States Army. Kyne served with the 24th Infantry Division in Operation Desert Storm, the most forward unit in the conflict. Norman states in his book that the 24th, "is the front line." Dennis has an extensive history of public service which dates to his early teen age years. Having displayed numerous accounts of compassion before he was out of Junior High School, Dennis worked regularly with Down Syndrome athletes at the Special Olympics Games and functions. Dennis regularly visits youth in places all over the country. Currently Dennis is Armed with a well received Rock Album and a oft read book, and has embarked on a tour of duty that as Bozeman Chronicle writer Joan Haines quotes Dennis, "The soldier's job is to protect Democracy, I still think I'm following my orders."
Steve Backus
Steve Backus has been active in SANE/FREEZE, 20/20 Vision, ACORN and NAWC (Northland Anti-War Coalition). He recently returned from living and teaching in the Middle East, and now lives and works in the Arrowhead Region of Minnesota.
His wife will be accompanying him here. He has written a number of articles that can be found at CommonDreams.org including The Rhetoric of Violence and We Need a National Funeral.
Fred Huenefeld, Jr.
Fred Huenefeld, Jr., born in Louisiana, was educated at Ouachita Parish High School, Northeast Louisiana University and Louisiana State University, where he received his Bachelor of Science in Agriculture Economics. Mr.Huenefeld has served in several government positions, including: Chairman, Louisiana State Soil & Water Conservation Committee (12 yrs); Governor's Council of Environmental Quality, member; Louisiana State Welfare Board, vice chairman; United States Dept. of Agriculture-Louisiana State Agriculture & Stabilization committee, appointed by President Carter: State Central Committee, Member National Democratic Committee (4 years) current member State Central Democratic Commitee.
Aside from his membership on the Board of Directors of the Schiller Institute, Mr. Huenefeld is active in other organizations, including: Past President and also Board of Director Member of the National Organization of Raw Materials; Louisiana Soil & Water Conservation Districts-Chairman, Boeff River District, member 35 years, President, Louisiana. Association Conservation Districts; and the American Cancer Society--local Board member for 35 years and Parish President, State President, State Crusader Chairman, and member National Board ACS . Mr. Huenefeld has had numerous speaking engagements in the United States, Canada, Germany, and Italy, speaking on The American System of Political Economy. And he has often represented the Schiller Institute's Food For Peace Movement.
An active agri-businessman, Mr. Huenefeld runs the Millhaven Plantation (cotton, corn, soybeans, pecans, cattle, cotton gin), 30 years, Trustee in Bankruptcy--25 Years-western District of Louisiana, and a Federal Court Realtor, Realty Pros, Monroe (currently). He is married to the former Jean Gentry, and has three children and five grandchildren.
Avery Friend
Avery Friend was born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1991 to Meredyth and Christoffer Friend. From an early age, she was influenced by her great grandmother, Cynthia Ware, a woman's rights activist, and many other political friends that her family had. She was a lone democrat at her school during the recent election, and was well known for her debating skills exhibited during class debates. She currently attends Christ Episcopal School, where she maintains a straight A average, is secretary of the Student Council, and helps take care of the goats, chickens, and various other animals that live at the school. She lives in Covington, Louisiana with her parents, two younger brothers, and numerous pets.
Ward Reilly
Ward Reilly is a native of Chicago. He volunteered for the Infantry in 1971 and was a member of the Weapons Platoon, Co. "C" 1st Bn. 16th Infantry (Rangers) from 1971 until 1974 when he was awarded an Honorable Discharge. He joined Viet Nam Veterans Against the War originally in 1972 while he still an active duty soldier and is now a National Contact person for them. Ward joined Veterans For Peace in 2000 and is a Board Member of "Bienville House For Peace and Justice" founded in 1968 of Baton Rouge, member of CAWI (Coalition Against War & Injustice) of Baton Rouge founded in 2002. Other memberships include Greenpeace, NOW, Amnesty International, NORML, the "Draft Board" of the Baton Rouge District, and C3 in New Orleans. He states he is "NOT in the CIA, FBI, NSA, or Homeland Security."
Bob Smith
Bob Smith, born a Texan, came to Louisiana in 1977. He retired from the Army and National Guard in 1997 as a Command Sergeant Major after 20 years. His career included three tours in Viet Nam as a Special Forces Green Beret and sixteen years in the Army National Guard Artillery in New Orleans, a unit he was mobilized with for Desert Storm. Bob has a liberal arts bachelor's degree in Sociology and a bachelor of science degree in Mechanical Engineering. For five years in the 1980's he was employed at the Viet Nam Veterans Outreach center helping other combat veterans recover from the war in Viet Nam. His other experiences include working with adolescents, substance abusers, the mentally ill, and with people who have learning disabilities. He became involved in the world-wide peace movement when Congress unconstitutionally relinquished their war making responsibility to the President in 2002. He is a member of Veterans for Peace and the Viet Nam Veterans Against the War. Currently he is employed with a small engineering firm and lives in New Orleans with his beloved wife, Julie.
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Buddy Spell
Buddy Spell, a felony trial lawyer born and raised in New Orleans and residing in Covington, LA, is the primary organizer of the Jazz Funeral for Democracy, a response to the re-election of George W. Bush. A political activist, Spell has championed civil liberties, reform of the criminal justice system, and promoted the causes of the disenfranchised working class. He is a member of the board of directors of the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.