Don White was the director of CISPES (Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador) and for many years active in the local Salvadoran community. Recently Don White contributed to the LA Indymedia front page with a report from a local demonstration: Militants, Loud Demo Causes "Change of Route" for Salvador's Right-wing President

Don was also active with KPFK, the local Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, and the Office Of the Americas

Most recently Don had been part of weekly vigils in support of the people of Haiti: A Weekly Vigil is Launched for Haiti and Kidnapped Human Rights Activist

Public memorial services have not been arranged as of yet but it is anticipated that services will be held sometime in the coming days.

Photo of Don taken this January at the School of the Americas Watch West demonstration.

I knew Don White starting in the early 1990s when I became active with CISPES. I worked with him here in the U.S. on solidarity work and also on CISPES delegations in El Salvador. I am very sadden at his death and will miss his commitment and passion for El Salvador and Latin American solidarity work and social justice. I will miss his sense of humor and ability to hold broad conversations on many political topics. Most of all I will recall his hearty laugh.

Don White Presente!!

I join so many people this week in mourning the loss of one of the greatest people I have ever known. Don's unwaivering commitment to doing all the hard work of making this world a better place, and bringing warmth and joy and love to every moment of the work will shine on into history. I, along with so many of my CISPES compañer@s, aspire to be part of carrying on his legacy.

CISPES has put up a blog to collect memories and stories about Don. Please share how Don touched or shaped your life so we can keep spreading his warmth and amazing work. The blog is http://www.cispes.org/donpresente

Don was always there at every event. He worked with so many people for so many different causes. No one who has been active in LA for any length of time has not seen or heard him speak at some event over the years. He will be missed but he will be with us in spirit forever. And whenever we take to the streets Don will still always be there marching with us.

Link to photo: Anti-Reagan Protest 611

Don White, PRESENTE!

Don is an internationalist like Norman Bethune.

He was ever present for Filipino-American issues like the anti-Marcos movement and the Oust Estrada campaign and the oust GMA movement.

He attended the Ist International assembly of the ILPS in the netherlands in 2001. Where he ably represented CISPES and El Salvadorean people .

VIVA DON WHITE, VIVA SOLIDARIDAD INTERNATIONAL!

AJLPP-USA

Don White gave me faith in humanity. He was one of the greatest human beings that ever lived and most certainly the kindest, most compassionate, generous and gracious person I've ever met. He embodied the quote, "Be the change you wish to see in the world" (Gandhi). He was a mentor, an example of who we can be for others, a shining example of what it means to be the best human that you can be. He was a dear friend to me and a partner in many causes. I am devastated by his having left the building. But I know that I am a better person for having known Don White, as is everyone with whom he made contact and even millions who never had the privilege of meeting this saint of a man.
I miss you already, Don. Rest in Peace, my friend. You'll always be my chair & I'll always be your vice (chair)!

I just saw Don White at the SOA West demonstration. He was an amazing and intelligent man and an immense contribution to human rights and social justice activism. He will be missed.

Memories of Don
by Casey Peters

Don White was such a ubiquitous presence that I cannot remember how we first met. It just seemed like he had always been there. There among us. Among those of us who have given of ourselves to work together trying to make this a better world. A world of peace, prosperity and cultural exchange. At times he played a leader, speaking from a podium before thousands of people rallying against war and bigotry. But such offerings were never elitist in nature. Speaking to thousands never made him feel too important to listen to one. To anyone. Don White was truly a man of the people.


It seems so strange to say "was." The vibrancy that rippled through his soul was remarkable, and it is hard to think that it could come to an end. His excitement about a new idea or even an old project was genuine enough to instill enthusiasm in others. And, as many will recount, he went about the work before us in a way that inspired people to set aside disagreements and focus on the big picture.


Don's role in working well with others helped to build a successful week of demonstrations known as D2K to underscore the disappointment that the progressive community felt after two terms of having a Democrat in the White House. My part in that season was working on PCLA2000, bringing a diversity of radical thought together for a People's Convention. Despite overwhelming commitments, Don lent his support to that effort as well.


A few months later, shortly after the Pershing Square rally to protest the inauguration of the presidential candidate who lost the popular vote, Don White and my mother (Lee Peters) and I were again in downtown Los Angeles, and rode the Angel's Flight funicular railway up to California Water Plaza on Bunker Hill. That was just after one o'clock on January 31, 2001, and I remember thinking as we sat by the open door on the downhill end of the train that someone could get seriously injured if the cable were to break. 23 hours later it did with one person killed and several hurt. My Mom said "we were one day from foreverness."


In 2003, I was chosen to be the first Local Election Supervisor for a new directly elected Local Station Board at KPFK. Dozens of activists ran for the board. At one point a broadcaster inadvertently announced that Don White would be speaking at an upcoming anti-war rally. Although Don's candidacy for the board was not mentioned, and he knew nothing of the announcement, it was my duty to pull his recorded candidate statement from the air to provide a fair balance of broadcast exposure for all candidates. Some people complained about that sanction, but Don selflessly agreed that the ruling was reasonable. When the exhausting election was over and the grueling vote count complete, it was my job to announce the results to the crowd gathered at the Peace Center. Sleep-deprived as I was, I made the error of combining the first name of first place finisher Donna Warren with the last name of second place finisher Don White. When I said the first seat on the board goes to "Donna White", laughter filled the air, and Don responded with a limp wrist gesture and blushing bright red. He went on to serve two years as Chair of the KPFK board.


Our mutual friend Mike Varady told me he'd asked Don why he was so quiet about being gay. Don had said he was proud of it but that just wasn't his political emphasis. Although Don's personal life was in accord with his politics, he did have a life that went beyond politics. Some of my favorite memories of him are just bumping into him at places like Fatburger, a fish and chips shop, and recently in downtown Long Beach. My wife Marilyn had many conversations with Don that never got political.


One particularly meaningful act was Don driving to my Mom's house just under the deadline to deliver a letter telling the probate court how happy Lee Peters had been when living an active social life in the care and company of Marilyn and me.


At a Washington DC meeting of the Pacifica National Board in April 2007, when I was introduced as the new National Elections Supervisor, Don made a point of telling the Directors that they were getting "2 for 1" because of my hard-working supportive wife. Only he was observant and thoughtful enough to publicly recognize a woman's unsung contribution.


That summer, I checked one of my email accounts on Bastille Day and came across one from Frank Dorrel entitled “Martin Sheen invites you..,” that was actually an invitation to Don White’s 70th birthday party that very night! It was a joyous event with a wonderful variety of refreshments and music where I saw several friends I hadn't seen for years. More importantly, there were activists from competing factions who were all there to celebrate their friendship with Don White. Now we will all gather again to remember Don as a bridge builder among peace makers.


Six months ago, Don White took time out from his work at the CISPES office (Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador) to pick up KPFK ballots and Election Supervisors and give us a ride to the Peace Center for the LSB vote count. That was reflective of his style of leadership. He was never too proud to do "Jimmy Higgins" work, named after the Upton Sinclair title character who devoted himself to thankless grunt work necessary to keep the movement going. Don lead not by edict but by example. With Don White having gone to his great reward, it is now incumbent upon a new generation to step forward to carry on the struggle.

The loss of Don White from our activist ranks is such a profound loss. I am still attempting to adjust to a progressive organizing force without Don there to provide security, offer insights, share his good humor, or simply be a wonderful friend. I credit Don with teaching me to be a legal observer and security person at political demonstrations, and through the first Gulf War, we were together at the Wilshire / Veteran federal building almost weekly, raising awareness, selling buttons, and showing our support both for the innocent victims of the war and our soldiers in uniform.

To share in the birthday celebration for Don was a wonderful opportunity to surprise him with a visit (I showed up with my mother, former CARECEN board member and long-time activist Ruth Capelle). The look of such happy surprise on his face will be a treasured memory.

When I was struggling to pass the California Bar Exam (several times!), and volunteering at (as well as fundraising for) CISPES, Don was there, ever supportive. When I was finally in a position to become a monthly CISPES sustainer, Don would include personal notes practically every month, thanking me for these small contributions, to keep the office functioning and the work expanding.

Those hysterical photos of Don, at yet another demo, with all of us adding little speech balloons were always recognized by him as loving jests by friends and colleagues who respected and admired him.

Don on the bullhorn or mike: "the white zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only," in his officious voice was sure to make us laugh.

As Jim Lafferty and I shared just today, for years to come, we will be at meetings and planning events, articulating to all, "if only Don were here." At every event, Don spoke up for those valued souls and friends who were gone. Now, dearest friend and companero, we speak up for you.