International Women's Day: Ben Jaffe Honors His Mother Sandra Jaffe

"Today I would like to honor some of the women in my life that have changed the world in their own, special ways. This is my mother Sandra Jaffe seated in the carriage way of Preservation Hall in the early 1960's. My mother is a strong, powerful, defiant, intelligent human. She has strong beliefs and convections. Night after night, for years, she sat at the entrance to Preservation Hall collecting the entrance fee. In other words, she was the hostess and the bouncer! And things could be tense. When confronted or tested, my mother does not back down. I have heard stories of her standing down rowdy drunk sailors or confronting disrespectful members of the audience which often led to them being tossed out of the Hall by the collar of their shirts! Any chance she had she would remove the 'Colored' signs on public bathrooms and toss them in the Mississippi River. She's the daughter of a Russian immigrant that found her way to New Orleans in 1961 and became part of the movement that gave birth to one of the worlds great musical institutions: Preservation Hall. She is an inspiration to all..." - Ben Jaffe