Our founder Big Chief Donald Harrison, Senior (1933-1998) loved jazz and books, and worked during his lifetime to share his passion for both with the children of New Orleans.
In celebration of Jazz Awareness Month 2011, the Guardians Institute kicks off its year of Big Chief Donald Harrison, Senior Book Club JAM programs on Friday, October 14, 2011 at 1:30 pm in the auditorium of McDonogh 42 Elementary Charter School at 1651 N. Tonti Street in the Tremé.
Members of the public are invited to join us for the event with the understanding that they will conduct themselves with respect for the school community and its rules.
Each child participating in the event will receive his or her own copy of Mama Don’t Allow by Thacher Hurd, our 2011 Jazz Awareness Month book selection. Gerald French and the Tuxedo Jazz Band will play for the students and engage them in a conversation about the roots of New Orleans jazz. Guardians of the Flame Big Chief Brian Nelson and Young Guardians of the Flame Big Chief Kevin (a student at McDonogh 42) will preside. The goal of book club events is to enhance academic achievement and foster greater understanding New Orleans root cultures among elementary school students.
The Guardians Institute is a non-profit organization founded by Herreast J. Harrison and the late Big Chief Donald Harrison, Senior through the spirit of the Guardians of the Flame Mardi Gras Indian gang. It has worked for over 20 years to preserve, celebrate, and advance the indigenous cultural arts of New Orleans. Its outreach programs utilize comprehensive arts and literacy activities in service to New Orleans children in grades K-12. Since 2006, the Big Chief Donald Harrison, Senior Book Club of the Guardians Institute has distributed over twenty-eight thousand books valued at over a quarter-million dollars to children in the Greater New Orleans area.
The Guardians Institute is proud to join with the New Orleans Musicians Assistance Foundation, the Clayton Family, and the New Orleans Jazz Celebration to celebrate Jazz Awareness Month 2011 with the McDonogh 42 school community.
Guardians of the Flame Big Queen Cherice Harrison-Nelson invites into the circle all who feel called to help support book club efforts: “Children are our most precious resource. Please join us in bringing this program to children throughout our wonderful city.”
The Guardians Institute gives a hearty Jazz Awareness Month family shout-out to Congo Nation Big Chief Donald Harrison, Junior on the occasion of his New Orleans jazz education efforts becoming the first recipient of a Hailun Piano Partnership!
Guardians of the Flame Maroon Society 