Ernest Nathan Morial
| Ernest N. Morial | |
|---|---|
| 57th Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana | |
|
In office May 1, 1978 – May 5, 1986 |
|
| Preceded by | Moon Landrieu |
| Succeeded by | Sidney Barthelemy |
| Member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 20 (Orleans Parish) |
|
|
In office 1967–1970 |
|
| Succeeded by | Dorothy Mae Taylor |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
October 9, 1929 New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Died | December 24, 1989 (aged 60) New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Resting place | Saint Louis Cemetery No. 1 in New Orleans |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Sybil Haydel |
| Children | Jacques, Julie, Cheri, and Monique |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 United States
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Army
|
| Years of service | 1954-1956 |
| Unit | Intelligence Corps |
| Battles/wars | Korean War |
Ernest Nathan Morial, known as Dutch Morial (October 9, 1929 – December 24, 1989), was an American political figure and a leading civil rights advocate. He was the first African-American mayor of New Orleans, serving from 1978 to 1986. He was the father of Marc Morial, a subsequent New Orleans mayor.
Morial, a New Orleans native, grew up in the Seventh Ward. His father was Walter Etienne Morial, a cigarmaker, and his mother was Leonie V. (Moore) Morial, a seamstress. He attended Holy Redeemer Elementary School and McDonogh No. 35 Senior High School. He graduated from Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1951. In 1954, he became the first African American to receive a law degree from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. Morial attended summer school throughout his law school tenure in order to graduate as the first African American. Had he not done so, another classmate, Robert F. Collins, would have graduated at the same time, thus entering into the history books as, technically, the first African American graduate of LSU Law, by virtue of his last name: "C" comes before "M." Collins would later become the first black federal judge in the American South. In 1991, Collins was convicted of bribery, resigned, and imprisoned.
Morial came to prominence as a lawyer fighting to dismantle segregation and as president of the local from 1962 to 1965. He followed in the cautious style of his mentor A.P. Tureaud in preferring to fight for civil rights in courtroom battles rather than through sit-ins and demonstrations. After unsuccessful electoral races in 1959 and 1963, he became the first black member of the Louisiana State Legislature since Reconstruction when he was elected in 1967 to represent a district in New Orleans' Uptown neighborhood. He ran for an at-large position on New Orleans' City Council in 1969–1970 and lost narrowly. He then became the first black Juvenile Court judge in Louisiana in 1970. When he was elected to the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal in 1974, he was the first black American to have attained this position as well.
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