Helping New Orleans "March On"

Along with horrendous loss of life, homes and offices of so many New Orleanians, Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of the basics that made the city what it was – and what it will return to. Part of what was lost was the ability to release the passion that is conveyed in part through the music of this great southern city.

"Let's March On," a project of the ABA Board of Governors and House of Delegates spouses, seeks to provide musical instruments for New Orleans programs through which students learn to play. The project is being facilitated by the Tipitinas Foundation, a nonprofit program of the Tipitinas Club.

Students from the Sophie B. Wright Public Charter School with their new band instruments

The program was launched at a noon luncheon event on June 2 at the Tipitinas Club in New Orleans, and featured a presentation of instruments collected to-date to students of Sophie B. Wright Public Charter School, one of the only middle schools open in New Orleans. Paul Batiste, a veteran band director and member of the musical Batiste family, is dedicated to building a program of excellence for the school. Principal Sharon Clark is a strong advocate for the band program. The school was started by New Orleans native Sophie B. Wright who, despite being physically handicapped, used her mother's cottage to establish a school for poor New Orleans children in the last decades of the 19th century.

During the event, marching band students performed for the ABA Board of Governors spouses. The support by the spouses for the Sophie B. Wright School will help the community as it strives to build a 100-member band to march in the Mardi Gras parade in February 2007.

The American Bar Association encourages all lawyers and bar associations across the country to log on to the "Let's March On" Web site to participate in the "Let's March On" project. Donors can choose from a registry of new, urgently needed instruments that can be purchased on-line through the Tipitinas Foundation, or donate used instruments restored to top condition, or make monetary donations to the "March On" instrument fund for the project. These tax deductible donations will help New Orleans get marching again.

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