A New Orleans native born on October 9, 1929, the youngest
of six children in Louisiana. He was nicknamed Dutch. The Morial
family were devout Catholics. His education began at St. Louis
Catholic School. He later attended Xavier Prep. Morial graduated
from Xavier University in 1951, a historically Black Catholic
college, with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration.
At the time, it was recognized as the only historically Black
Catholic College in the country.
He became the Mayor of New Orleans,
a lawyer, and a judge. He was also the first Creole assistant
U.S. attorney and the first elected to the Louisiana legislature
since the time of Reconstruction.
Ernest N. Morial, a lawyer, was elected the first Creole mayor
of New Orleans on this day. His election made news throughout
the nation. Morial served two terms from 1978 to 1986. He created
the first office of Economic Development to coordinate the city's
efforts to retain and attract business and the first minority
business enterprise counselor to assist small and minority-owned
Morial took an interest in the Louisiana political
arena and began his law career in 1954. From 1965 to 1967, he
was Louisiana's first Creole assistant U.S. attorney. In 1967,
he was the first Creole since the Reconstruction to be elected
to the Louisiana legislature. Morial died on December 24, 1989,
of cardiac arrest related to severe asthma.
achievements are monumental
achievements are monumental
. In 1954, he was the first Creole
graduate of Louisiana State University Law School.
He then served
as Louisiana's first Black Assistant U.S. Attorney and was the
first creole Juvenile Court Judge appointed by Gov. John McKeithen.
He was also the first creole elected to the Louisiana Fourth
Circuit Court of Appeals.
On May 1, 1978, he became the first
Creole Mayor of New Orleans and was reelected to a second term
Morial was known by many as a stern man of unquestionable ethics
who never let obstacles get in his way. But his profound influence
on the state of Louisiana encouraged others to follow in his
footsteps and do their best.
As one 19 year-old student so appropriately
stated: "Dutch changed New Orleans for the better. He changed
the laws and he changed the people. He created opportunities
that had never existed before. His message to me was that if
I work hard and dream great things, and if I can convince others,
I can be anything in the world that I want to be."
Being the first Creole-American mayor of New Orleans was but
one of many firsts for Ernest N. Morial. In 1967 he became the
first Creole-American Democrat elected to the Louisiana Legislature,
and was the first creole U.S. Attorney in Louisiana. The New
Orleans Convention Center is named in his honor. Morial's eldest
son, Marc, was also the Mayor of New Orleans.
-- Ernest N. Morial born in New Orleans, Louisiana
1954 -- Graduates
from LSU Law School
1957 -- Begins
practicing law after serving in the Army
1965 -- First
Creole Assistant UP.S. Attorney in Louisiana
1967 -- First
State Representative since Reconstruction Era
1970 -- First
Juvenile Court Judge in Louisiana
1974 -- First
elected Judge, Fourth Circuit of Appeals
1978 -- First
Mayor of New Orleans
-- Suffers fatal heart attack