DON WHITE PRESENTE

Querid@s Compañer@s

CISPES,There is no easy way to share this news with you. It is with heavy hearts that we write to tell you that our inspirational compañero Don White passed away this weekend in Los Angeles. He was found in his apartment by family members on Saturday night, June 21, 2008 and the cause of death is thought to be a heart attack. We are deeply saddened and shocked by this news.

We are also immensely grateful for all that Don has brought to our lives, to the international struggle for peace and justice, to the people of Los Angeles, El Salvador, and countless other places in the world.

Don White, also fondly known as Don Blanco, has been the face of solidarity for many decades. He was at the founding convention of CISPES in 1980, and played a key role in the organization up until the very week of his passing. Don is well known and loved by so many of us for his unwavering commitment to social and economic justice, his tremendous humility, his infectious enthusiasm, his bold yet extremely diplomatic conviction, and his lively spirit.
It is hard to imagine the world without Don White, but as we know he would insist, the struggle must always continue. And so in his memory we will continue to fight for justice not only in El Salvador, but in the US, in Latin America, throughout the world, and as Don sometimes said "even in outer space!"

Es cierto: la lucha sigue!

We encourage you to plan commemorations and memorials for Don in your local area, and will keep you informed about any opportunity that comes for us to celebrate Don's life. In thinking about how to approach the large task of commemorating someone so widely respected and loved, we couldn't fathom how to capture everything that Don has given to us. In order to remember him well, we have created a blog where you can post stories and photos of Don to share with others who loved him and struggled alongside him. Please share this far and wide to help us document all he has meant for the people of the world and keep his memory alive for generations to come. You can visit the blog at www.cispes.org/donpresente/ -- in order to post to the blog you just need to register your email and sign in.

At his birthday party last year, his biography ended with these words: "Don has said many times that the work he does in the movement enriches his life, brings him into contact with "the most beautiful people in the world," and helps him move into his senior years knowing he will leave the world a somewhat better place than he found it when it all started in 1937."
We will miss you, Don. Whenever we feel that fiery spark that ignites us to work for change, we will know that a little piece of your spirit is in our hearts forever.

DON WHITE, PRESENTE!~~~~