      |
Pre-Katrina, The New Orleans Social Aid and Pleasure Club Task Force was named the 2ND Line Cultural Tradition Task Force and was approximately 3 years old. The Task Force was started to protect the Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs from outlandish fees and to assist the clubs with organizing themselves. Unfortunately they were unsuccessful with establishing their goals. Post- Katrina Michelle Longino had a vision of all the clubs in all areas of the city to parade together for the 1st time in history. Upon organizing and networking together to reach all the clubs that were displaced Michelle along with myself put together an all- star parade on January 15, 2006, with the assistance of other Social Aid and Pleasure Club members. This event was marred by violence at the end of the parade. The police then raised the permit cost from $1200.00 to $4445.00. At this point all club people agreed that the Task Force needed to step up to the plate. The original Task Force leaders were scattered, so Michelle and I formed the New Orleans Social Aid and Pleasure Club Task Force. We have since that time hosted work shops to assist the clubs with obtaining tax id numbers, filing charter applications with secretary of state office, setting up bank accounts, Litigating with the police department about the astronomical fees, acting as liaison with the city council members and other political leaders. We have successfully won the lawsuit filed against the city of N.O. We also continue to educate the community on the importance of our culture. We host community events such as:
|