received proclamations from the City of New Orleans (2009, 2012) and the State of Louisiana (2011) for his work with kids. In 2013, The Roots of Music participated in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California as the youngest invitees from outside California in the parade's long history. On August 29, 2015, President Barack Obama visited New Orleans to remark on the 10-year mark of Hurricane Katrina. A small ensemble of The Roots of Music performed prior to his speaking and the Roots of Music after-school program was complimented by the president during his speech. The Tremé Two On October 1, 2007, a large group of local musicians gathered in Tremé near the corner of St. Phillip and N. Robertson streets, to sing and play music in honor of recently deceased fellow New Orleans musician, Kerwin James, younger brother of Rebirth Brass Band founders Phil and Keith Frazier. James had died following complications from a stroke he suffered in 2006. In the course of the gathering, witnesses state that approximately 20 police cars surrounded the musicians "in response to a noise complaint." A debate with the officers ensued regarding the time-honored tradition of "bringing down" (a gathering of musicians from around the city, playing music in the streets near the home or venue of a deceased musician in the days before the funeral or burial of the deceased). After a heated verbal exchange with the police officers responding to the scene, Rebirth drummer, Derrick Tabb and his brother, former Rebirth member Glen David Andrews, were both arrested and charged with "parading without a permit" and "disturbing the peace by tumultuous manner." Ellis Joseph of the Free Agents Brass Band was one of the musicians gathered on that night and witnessed the incident. He commented on the police reaction to the crowd of musicians, stating, "...they (the New Orleans police officers) came in a swarm, like we had AK-47s. But we only had instruments." The pair was represented in court by Carol Kolinchak, a lawyer who also represented one of the defendants in the Jena 6 case. The arrest was also witnessed by several local journalists who published scathing editorials the following morning in their respective media outlets. That arrest, combined with escalating police brutality in post-Katrina New Orleans, caused public outcry across the globe. Local residents criticized the handling of the Tabb and Andrews as an example of the