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Marc Haydel Morial/ˌmɔːriˈæl/(born ca. 1959) is an American political and civic leader and the current president of theNational Urban League.Morial served asMayor of New Orleansfrom 1994 to 2002[1]as the city's youngest Mayor,[2]President of theUnited States Conference of Mayorsin 2001, and as aLouisiana State Senatorfrom 1992 to 1994.[3]
Marc Morial | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 59thMayor of New Orleans | |
| In office May 2, 1994 – May 6, 2002 | |
| Preceded by | Sidney Barthelemy |
| Succeeded by | Ray Nagin |
| 59th President of theUnited States Conference of Mayors | |
| In office 2001–2002 | |
| Preceded by | Brent Coles |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Menino |
| Member of theLouisiana Senate from the 4th district | |
| In office 1992–1994 | |
| Preceded by | Ben Bagert |
| Succeeded by | Paulette Irons |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Marc Haydel Morial New Orleans,Louisiana,U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Michelle Miller |
| Parent(s) | Ernest Morial Sybil Haydel |
| Education | University of Pennsylvania(BA) Georgetown University(JD) |
Morial was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. After completing his undergraduate degree at the University of Pennsylvania in 1980 and receiving his Juris Doctor fromGeorgetown University Law Centerin 1983,[4]he began his career as a lawyer in New Orleans and in 1985 he established a private law practice there.
In 2021, Harvard University published a case study, profiling Morial, called "Embracing the Uphill Struggle: Marc Morial’s Quest for Corporate Diversity".
Biography
editEarly life and education
editMarc Morial was born toErnest N. "Dutch" Morialand Sybil (Haydel) Morial, an elementary school teacher,Xavier University of New Orleansdean and civic activist. He is the second of five children. He was raised inPontchartrain Park,a subdivision of New Orleans.
Morial went on to graduateJesuit High School in New Orleansas a member of the National Honor Society. He was one of only 14 Black students of 1,000 at Jesuit High School, he founded the Student Association for Black Achievement, and organized the school's first Black History Month celebration.[5]
Morial was included in Who’s Who Among High School Students and Who’s Who in America and Outstanding Young Men of America in high school.[6]
In 1980 Morial earned a bachelor's degree in economics and African American studies at theUniversity of PennsylvaniainPhiladelphia.
Morial earned aJuris Doctordegree in 1983 fromGeorgetown Universityin Washington, D.C.[7]At Georgetown, he was elected first-year Delegate to the Student Bar Association and served as a member and head of fundraising for theNational Black Law Students Association.
Early career
editAfter working during his third year in law school for the late U.S. Rep.Mickey Leland,he returned to New Orleans to join the firm Barham and Churchill.[8]
In 1985, Morial established a private law practice in New Orleans.[9]
After a narrow defeat in his first race for public office for Louisiana second congressional district, Morial was elected as Louisiana State senator in 1991 where he served until 1994 before being elected Mayor of New Orleans.[3]
State senator
editAs a Louisiana State Senator (1992–94), Morial was Chairman of the Educational Institution Subcommittee; and member of the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus.[10]
Mayor of New Orleans
editMarc Morial was elected Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana in1994by defeating Donald Mintz with 54% of the vote.[11]He was the youngest Mayor of New Orleans in 50 years and at the time was one of the youngest mayors of any major American city.[12]He campaigned with the promise to "clean out City Hall with a shovel not a broom."[13]Morial won re-election to a second term in1998,receiving almost 80% of the votes.
During his time as Mayor, the rate of violent crime in New Orleans fell by 50%. "[14][15]From 2001 to 2002, Morial was President of theUnited States Conference of Mayors.[16]He served as chief spokesperson for America’s Cities (2001–02). In addition to his time as President, he also served as the organization’s Chairman for the Committee on Arts,[17]Chairman for the Federal Budget Task Force,[18]and Chairman for the Task Force on Hunger and Homelessness,[19]and Vice President,[20]among other positions.
National Urban League
editIn 2003, Morial was selected to head theNational Urban League.In 2004, Morial added a new metric, the Equality Index, to the League's annualState of Black America.[21]
Publications
editMorial has written two non-fiction books, published speeches, weekly newspaper columns and a weekly newsletter, “ReMarcs” for the National Urban League.
- “A National Action Plan for America’s Cities,” The Urban Lawyer: The National Quarterly on State and Local Government Law, Volume 34 Number 3, Summer 2002.
- “Decisions of Courage,” a Book of Speeches by Mayor Marc H. Morial from his first term as Mayor of New Orleans. 1998
- “To Be Equal,” a weekly newspaper column. 2003 – Present
- The Gumbo Coalition - 2020[22]
Presidential Commissions
editMorial served as Chair of the Census Advisory Committee (2010),[23]and a member President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability (2012-2015).[24]He was also appointed to the Twenty-First Century Workforce Commission by President Bill Clinton (1998-2000).[25]
References
edit- ^Gordon, Ed (September 1, 2005)."Former New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial".NPR.RetrievedMarch 16,2010.
- ^Sutton, Will (May 4, 2020)."Marc Morial weaves leadership lessons into the story of his life in book 'Gumbo Coalition'".NOLA.com.
- ^ab"Morial, Marc H. (1958-) | Amistad Research Center".amistadresearchcenter.tulane.edu.RetrievedMay 30,2020.
- ^"Marc Morial".www.theleagueonline.org.RetrievedSeptember 28,2023.
- ^Stelly, Phillip."Jesuit commemorates 50th anniversary of integration".The Louisiana Weekly.RetrievedFebruary 1,2021.
- ^"Mayor Marc H. Morial, Intergovernmental Relations Division, Records of the Office of Boards and Commissions".archives.nolalibrary.org.RetrievedMay 31,2020.
- ^"Biography".Marc H. Morial.Archived fromthe originalon July 17, 2012.RetrievedJune 10,2013.
- ^"Morial, Marc H. (1958-) | Amistad Research Center".amistadresearchcenter.tulane.edu.RetrievedJune 2,2020.
- ^"Marc Morial | National Portrait Gallery".npg.si.edu.RetrievedJune 2,2020.
- ^"LLBC".house.louisiana.gov.RetrievedJune 3,2020.
- ^Louisiana Secretary of State Election Results, 5 March 1994, Mayor City of New Orleans.
- ^columnist, WILL SUTTON | Staff (May 4, 2020)."Marc Morial weaves leadership lessons into the story of his life in book 'Gumbo Coalition'".NOLA.com.RetrievedJune 18,2020.
- ^Morial, Marc (1998).Decisions Of Courage: The Speeches of Mayor Marc H. Morial.New Orleans. p. 7.ISBN0-966-1300-0-6.
{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^Morial, Marc (2020).The Gumbo Coalition.Harper Collins. p. 22.ISBN9781400216284.
- ^Bragg, Rick (February 17, 1998)."New Orleans Mayor Thrives on Lower Crime and Lifted Spirit".New York Times.
- ^"United States Conference of Mayors: Past Presidents. (n.d.)".Usmayors.org. Archived fromthe originalon July 2, 2015.
- ^"Mayor Marc H. Morial (D - New Orleans, LA)".Americans For The Arts.May 15, 2019.
- ^"Bipartisan Policy Center Launches Debt Reduction Task Force".
- ^"Homelessness Report".C-SPAN.
- ^Beechen, Laura."Morial, Marc H. (1958-)".Amistad Research Center.
- ^Smith, Alonzo; "Empowering Communities. Changing Lives. 100 Years of the National Urban League and Black America, The Donning Company, page 118,ISBN978-1-57864-683-8
- ^"The Gumbo Coalition - Marc Morial".HarperCollins Leadership.RetrievedJune 22,2020.
- ^"Marc H. Morial | Charter".corporate.charter.com.RetrievedJune 19,2020.
- ^"The President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability".www.treasury.gov.RetrievedJune 22,2020.
- ^"Marc H. Morial | Charter".corporate.charter.com.RetrievedJune 22,2020.
External links
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