Morial, Ernest N. (Ernest Nathan), 1929-1989

Ernest Nathan "Dutch" Morial (October 9, 1929 – December 24, 1989) was an American lawyer, jurist, civil rights advocate, and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African-American mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, serving from 1978 to 1986.

Born and raised in New Orleans, Morial graduated from the racially segregated McDonogh 35 Senior High School and Xavier University of Louisiana, where he received a degree in business administration in 1951. He became the first African American to graduate from the Louisiana State University School of Law in 1954 after taking an accelerated course load, including summer classes, to achieve the breakthrough milestone ahead of fellow black classmate Robert Collins. Morial devoted his first two years as a lawyer to working for the US Army intelligence group during and after the Korean War. He then returned to New Orleans, where he practiced law at a private firm. Morial rose quickly through the ranks of the NAACP chapter in New Orleans, serving as its president from 1962 to 1965. During this period, he campaigned for racial justice through the use of nonviolent tactics as the civil rights movement gained momentum across the South.

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