'Jazz funeral for Lady Liberty' leads morning protest Jan. 20 (New Orleans)

[fleur-de-lisa]

http://www.bestofneworleans.com/thelatest/archives/2017/01/19/jazz-funeral-for-lady-liberty-leads-morning-protest-jan-20

A weekend of protests and demonstrations begins Friday morning in New Orleans to mark what Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne called "the most ominous Inauguration Day in modern history." In keeping with that grave assessment, tomorrow's first protest — organized by activist group The Next Right Thing — will be headed up by a "jazz funeral for Lady Liberty," which features an effigy of Lady Liberty resting in a coffin. The Mahogany Brass Band will play traditional dirge and funereal songs.

The "funeral" will convene with other marchers outside Louis Armstrong Park at 10 a.m. to depart at 11 a.m. on the route that journeys from Rampart Street to Canal Street and then back down Peters Street toward the Moonwalk. There, Lady Liberty's coffin will be symbolically doused in the Mississippi River. One of the "funeral's" organizers, Randy Fertel, said the event was partially inspired by the Society of St. Anne's traditional Mardi Gras morning pilgrimage to the Mississippi. (LJ Goldstein and Conrad Martin also contributed to the organizing.)

Onlookers are encouraged to join the procession.