An Evening to Celebrate the Life of Our
compañero Don White

¡¡¡Presente!!!

DON WHITE -
Born in Mount Vernon, Washington on April 18th, 1937. Died on June 19th, 2008 - 71 Years Old.

Don White, a long time Southern California activist, also a Charter Founder and lifetime member of United Teachers of Los Angeles, passed away suddenly at his home in Los Angles, CA on June 19, 2008. He will be missed, not only by his family, but by literally hundreds of friends and associates of the many organizations in which he was so passionately involved over the past three decades.

Born and raised in Mount Vernon, Washington on April 18, 1937, Don White’s life was a reflection of the last 60 years of the progressive movement in the United States. His leadership abilities became evident during his high school years. He was president of his sophomore class and then president of the Mount Vernon High School Student Body. He graduated from the College of the Pacific studying political science and attended post graduate classes at American University in Washington DC.

From the time that he was a college student in the late 1950's, fighting against the injustice surrounding the House of Representatives' Un-American Activities Committee, Don remained engaged in the struggle for peace and justice for humanity.

After becoming disenchanted with the political scene in Washington DC, he moved to Los Angeles California in 1963 where he taught history at Irving Junior High School. He was deeply committed to issues of equity in educational opportunity, especially for children in the inner cities. Don participated in every teacher’s union strike from 1963 until his retirement in 1997.

In 1976, Don traveled to Guatemala to do relief work following a devastating earthquake there. He called that month-long journey "an epiphany, a life changing experience; " which remained a vibrant part of his political psyche that resulted in his friendship and faithful service to Central America. During the war in EI Salvador, Don made 14 trips to that country and to Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. He often traveled to El Salvador to bring direct material aid and on fact-finding missions there, often at risk to his own safety. Don was a member of the Echo Park Chapter of the Committee in Solidarity with the people of EI Salvador, CISPES, since joining the group shortly after its founding convention in 1980.

As an organizer, Board Member and leader of CISPES in Los Angeles, Don coordinated and addressed countless rallies, demonstrations, fund-raisers, teach-ins, delegations, material aid drives, congressional visits, and civil disobedience actions demanding an end to U.S. intervention in EI Salvador and Central America. For years he organized and/or participated in protests demanding closure of the US based School of the Americas, known for training members of the military from Latin American countries in methods of torture.

Don White was an organizer of scores of citywide coalitions addressing numerous progressive causes including peace in the Middle East, the treatment of immigrants, police brutality, women’s rights and more. He played a crucial part in the early sanctuary movement, where local churches gave refuge to undocumented immigrants from Central and Latin America, and up until the time of his death he spoke out about human suffering and separation of families as a result of US government immigration raids in Southern California and elsewhere.

He was part of the coalition that following a news story broken by the San Jose Mercury newspaper, mobilized against the CIA bringing in crack cocaine to South Los Angeles. And, as a "Legal Observer" working with the National Lawyers Guild, he could be seen wearing the fluorescent Green Hat worn by the NLG Legal Observers at virtually every major - and minor - demonstration in Los Angeles.

Don was a founding member of the Southern California Fair Trade Network, which organized for the 1999 World Trade Organization protests held in Seattle, Washington ("The Battle in Seattle"). This is universally hailed as ushering in a new era of activism in the United States and internationally. He was one of the lead organizers in protests referred to as "D2K" which were held during the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles. Several of the D2K protests were the largest Los Angles had seen for some time, and several law suits were filed and won against Los Angeles Police Department for their actions both in the lead up to and during the protests.

He served on the Boards of the Coalition in Solidarity with the people of EI Salvador, the Office of the Americas and Americans for Democratic Action, as well as being the first chair of the Local Station Board of Los Angeles listener-sponsored radio station KPFK, 90.7 fm. He also served several terms on Pacifica Radio's National Board. He was a key supporter of the Pacifica Foundation and KPFK, and was involved in a lengthy community led struggle to democratize the Foundation and the station. Don volunteered during KPFK fund drives, most recently several days before his death, and he helped to bring new talent to the station.

Don White was also a lead organizer and coordinator in countless mass demonstrations for peace and pro-immigrant rallies in Los Angeles. He helped organize the 3-day LA Social Forum to be held the weekend of June 27th, 2008. He was active in the Ad Hoc Working Group on Haiti where he was a constant presence at the weekly vigils calling for the safe return of Haitian Human Rights Activist Lovinsky Pierre Antoine. He stood with anti-war veterans as well as anti-war active duty soldiers. He firmly supported and helped to fundraise for Augustine Aguayo for Iraq Veterans Against the War and for the team that produced the film Arlington West. He also worked closely with Cole Miller of NO MORE VICTIMS. And at the time of his death he was organizing among other activities, for the visit to Los Angeles of Mauricio Funes, the FMLN candidate for President of El Salvador.

As a dynamic speaker, he was a fixture of the progressive movement, often serving as Master of Ceremonies or moderator at events sponsored by a wide range of organizations and coalitions. He was regularly the guy who made the pitch for money at demonstrations as well as social and political events -- because he put people at ease, could make them laugh, and made them want to give and be a part of something much larger than themselves. As a result, Don raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for scores of progressive and humanitarian organizations.

For his 70th birthday, a birthday party invitation went out from actor and activist Martin Sheen, and the party was not only a celebration but also a fundraiser for the local peace movement.

Don leaves behind his brother Dennis and sister-in-law Harriet White, their children Denise Smith and Lori White, their grandchildren Haley Smith, Rachel LaCasse and Campbell, sister-in-law Lucrecia (Bobbi) Way, nephews George and Gary Way and their families, and many friends in the Pacific Northwest, in California, across the US as well as in El Salvador. In the style of the activist community to whom Don was so committed, a meeting of friends, family and community based organizations was organized [at the Peace Center, yet!] to plan his public memorial. Several on-air tributes have been paid to Don White on Pacifica Radio’s KPFK.

Link to a City News Service wire story based on the above.

From Blase and Theresa Bonpane:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DON WHITE...PRESENTE! PRESENTE! PRESENTE!

Yes, Don, you were present, you always were present and we think you are still present.

You were present to assist in the formation of Medical Aid to El Salvador.

You were present in the formation of CISPES.

At great personal risk, you brought the good news of CISPES to El Salvador in the midst of a bloody conflict.

And you constantly returned to El Salvador during the worst moments of that war.

And you were (are) present in the needs of the millions of refugees in the United States.

You clearly and forcefully denounced the police state tactics of the ICE raids.

You were always there to oppose the rape and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan.

We treasure our days with you in Los Angeles, Central America and also in various jail cells.

Your life was lived to the last moment in full force and bountiful.

For the communication of truth, justice and peace you served as a force of nature as a board member for the Office of the Americas, the Pacifica National Board and the KPFK Local Board.

How can any person do so much?

In Spanish this is called "entrega total" (total dedication). It is the virtue of a revolutionary.

Don, you were (are) the moral revolution called for by Dr. Martin Luther King.

You were never in an ideological trap but you were flush with the spiritual values that will revolutionize the world. This is the moral revolution fostered by love, joy, justice, peace, courage, endurance & compassion.

These profound spiritual qualities were the very pillars of your magnificent life.

"By their fruits you shall know them."

Adios compañero Blanco!

La lucha misma es la victoria, (The struggle itself is the victory).

            --Theresa and Blase Bonpane

Roberto Lovato: compañero Don White, Presente!

June 24, 2008

I just got word that Don White, a much-beloved, longtime compañero in the movement for peace and justice in El Salvador, passed away. People of many walks of life, many movements - women's, GLBT, Middle East peace, labor, immigrant rights, education, Venezuela solidarity and others- around the planet mourn his passing as they celebrate his life. Though he fought many battles in many wars, none moved Don like that of his beloved El Salvador.

Were we, as a society, better able to measure commitment to social justice as we measure baseball, basketball or American Idol stats, Don would surely have won many laurels and trophies for many accomplishments. Without a doubt, Don, a teacher who lived, loved and worked in Los Angeles, holds the U.S. record for organizing marches in a single lifetime. Because the movement in solidarity with El Salvador staged so, so many marches, protests and other events for so many years, Don, the dean of logistics, probably had more experience than anyone I'm ever likely to meet again. And, if I know Don, he's likely already conspiring to set records for organizing in the Struggle of the Great Beyond.

His bubbly, kitschy humor was also unmatched when it came to raising money, something many of us first learned about from watching Don. It still brings a smile to remember how he made money glide magically into the hats, bags or other makeshift receptacles for cash, checks and other donations to any of the hundreds, perhaps thousands of large and small events he pitched at in English- and in his broken Spanish, which included the word "compañero" in every other sentence.

But more important than any logistical or fundraising capabilities, was Don's possession of the one quality that has distinguished and will continue to distinguish the true revolutionary from the rest: that essential combination of unconditional love backed by incessant action. I've met many in the U.S. who've given heart and soul to distant causes in tropical lands, but none like Don. Long after many "in solidarity" people have left the Salvadoran people as a memory, many of us will remember Don as a light reminding us that we were never alone before, during and after that long, dark night of war. He was a friend I will mourn for many nights.

In his honor, please take a moment to look and meditate on this pic of Don, of the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES), for it is indeed how our friend, our compañero, Don White, would like us to remember him. And as you do so, you too will remember one of those who fit the description of a Bertolt Brecht poem Don loved deeply,

Hay hombres que luchan un dia
y son buenos
Hay otros luchan un ano
y son mejores
Hay quienes luchan muchos anos
y son muy buenos.

Pero Hay quienes luchan toda la vida:
esos son los imprescindibles.

(There are men who struggle for a day
and they are good.
There are men who struggle for a year
and they are better.
There are men who struggle many years,
and they are better still.

But there are those who struggle all their lives:
These are the indispensable ones.)

Gracias

compañero Don White, ¡Presente!

Monday, Jun. 23, 2008

I have memories of Don....on a bus to a border event. Making sure that everyone had water. Making sure everyone on the bus had his cell number in case something should happen to anyone. Making sure that we were all accounted for on the way back.

I remember Don on the stage at hundreds of fundraisers....always asking for money for others. Always giving his all. Always willing to hold the banner and stand on the curb at events....never needing the spotlight. Always smiling. I never heard a bad word about Don; not in anger or disappointment. And he was one of the few people in this movement of such strong and passionate, sometimes disparate views, who would fearlessly get in the middle and facilitate peace.

Humble is too little of a word to use for this man. Maybe love is a better word. Because yes; what motivated Don White was always love. I wish I could have been a student in his history class. If I had heard about humanity from the heart and soul of Don White I would have fallen in love with every aspect of it long before I did.

We lived in the same neighborhood and I would run into him randomly in the parking lot of the shopping center on the corner of Sunset and Vermont or at a local eatery .....the House of Pies....where he would often sit at the counter eating breakfast and talking politics with the regulars and old timers who met there. They smiled and jokingly called him the commy....in good spirit. I doubt if they really had a clue.

I remember him always with a smile and that silly lovable laugh.....and always so glad to see me whether I ran into him as a neighbor or as a fellow activist at events. He always treated me as if I were someone special to him....and I felt that. Felt that he was an uncle. That I had always known him.

As busy as he was he would think of me and send me job referrals when I was looking for work. When I thought it was important for him to meet someone, he didn't question for one second. He made time; arrangements to meet for a meal. Of course I understood that he was like that for everyone; for all of us. That he made each and every one of us feel that special.

He was a man who lived gracefully....and in grace he is part of our lives and our history. I cry because I will miss him and because I feel blessed that I knew him.

Don White Presente.

Anna L. Kunkin
la.indymedia.org

Media Release
Justice for Filipino American Veterans(JFAV)
Los Angeles, CA
June 25,2008

JFAV and the Filipino Community Salutes Companero Don White

We, in the Justice for Filipino American Veterans (JFAV) were profoundly shocked and saddened on the news of the sudden death of Don White, a dear comrade and friend of the Filipino World War II veterans and the Filipino immigrant community.

Don White, the Director of the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES) in Los Angeles, 70, died of a massive heart attack in his apartment last Friday, June 20, 2008 in Los Angeles.

Don White was an ever-active community leader who always supported people’s causes. He attended the First International Assembly of the International League of peoples’ Struggle (ILPS) on its founding in Zutphen, The Netherlands. He also was a founder of the Solidarity Committee for in Support of a Just and Lasting Peace in the Philippines (SOLCOM) in 2002 that work for the defense of Prof. Jose Ma. Sison and all Filipino patriots abroad against U.S. political persecution.

He had always espoused the Filipino World War II veterans cause as he always bannered the cause of the people of El Salvador and all oppressed people of the world. He was ever active and always drew parallels between the struggle of the Filipino people against the US-Marcos dictatorship and against the US-backed military and civilian junta in El Salvador.

He was a founder and a mover of the Southern California Fair Trade Network that mobilized against the WTO in Seattle in 1998. The Seattle Protests in December 1998 was the impetus for the revival of the massive American protest movement in the new millennium.

He was active against the backlash of the Sept 11 attacks and joined the anti-war protest since September 11, 2001 in Los Angeles. Together with well-known peace activists, they founded the Coalition for World Peace that spearheaded the first mass rallies against the rightist suppression in Los Angeles.

Again, he was instrumental in the great upsurge for immigrant rights marches and rallies in Los Angeles in March 2006 and the later years. Don White is an internationalist and a solidarity activist. He was very generous donor as he was a great fundraiser for every cause. We will always be grateful for his active advocacy and solidarity.

We will continue your legacy of untiring support for the people of the third world struggles for social and national liberation!

¡La Lucha Continua!

¡Para Victoria Siempre, Don White Presente!

Faustino Baclig
Arturo P. Garcia
Coordinators
Justice For Filipino American Veterans(JFAV)