Ernest "Dutch" Morial papers, 1929-1995 | Amistad Research Center

Printer-friendly |

Collection Overview

Title: Ernest "Dutch" Morial papers, 1929-1995

Creator: Morial, Ernest "Dutch" (1929-1989)

Extent: 87.0 Linear Feet

Arrangement: Arrangement is primarily alphabetically by topic and chronologically within the file units.

Date Acquired: 07/13/1977. More info below under Accruals.

Languages: English, French

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The Ernest "Dutch" Morial papers document Morial's career as an activist, lawyer, judge, and mayor of New Orleans. The collection consists of correspondence, photographs, financial documents, newspaper articles, audiovisual materials, and collected items spanning the years 1929 to 1995. The papers have been arranged into the following seven series: Personal papers, campaigns and legislation, City of New Orleans mayoral tenure, community service and memberships, legal activities and judicial tenure, collected items, and multimedia. This collection reflects Morial's active civic life at the local, state, and national levels. Further description of the series appears below.

Other materials pertaining to Morial's mayoral tenure are located in the City Archives at the main branch of the New Orleans Public Library.

This collection was processed under a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Biographical Note

Ernest "Dutch" Morial was an attorney and politician who was active in the Civil Rights Movement in New Orleans beginning in the 1960s. His political career was marked by a number of firsts for an African American, including being the first since Reconstruction elected to the Louisiana State Legislature and the first to serve on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. He was also the first African American mayor of the city of New Orleans.

Ernest Nathan "Dutch" Morial, the youngest of the six children of Leonie V. and Walter Etienne Morial, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on October 9, 1929. After his early education, Morial received a BS in Business Administration from Xavier University in 1951. In 1954, Morial became the first African American graduate from Louisiana State University Law School.

Morial began his professional career when he served with the U.S. Army Intelligence Corp during the Korean Conflict, from 1954-1956. During this time Morial married Sybil G. Haydel in 1955, and they would have five children, Julie, Marc, Jacques, Cheri, and Monique. After his military service, Morial returned to his law partnership in New Orleans in 1956 and served as general counsel to the Standard Life Insurance Company from 1960 to 1967. He was appointed assistant U.S. attorney for New Orleans from 1965 to 1967 before beginning a career in electoral politics.

Morial's mentor was A.P. Tureaud, a leading civil rights attorney and key figure in black New Orleans since the 1930s. As president of the New Orleans Chapter of the NAACP from 1962 to 1965, Morial was at the forefront of black protest and the dismantling of Jim Crow. He became an attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, serving on the national level. Morial participated in the Dryades Street Boycott and fought for the desegregation of buses and streetcars and the integration of Louisiana State University of New Orleans (LSUNO). Morial also filed suits for African Americans to use the Municipal Auditorium and for the wider desegregation of public schools in New Orleans.

In 1967, Morial was elected to the Louisiana State Legislature as Representative for District 80 (Wards 1 and 2), becoming the first African American elected to that body since Reconstruction. Other similar accomplishments of Morial include becoming the first assistant African American U.S. attorney in New Orleans, the first African American to serve as juvenile court judge, and the first African American on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.

In 1977, Morial announced his candidacy for Mayor of the city of New Orleans, suing the State Judicial Commission for the right to campaign while remaining a judge. Ultimately, Morial won the general election over Joseph DiRosa by over six thousand votes, becoming the first African American mayor of New Orleans. He gained national attention in his first term as mayor for standing up to police and sanitation workers - leading to a city-wide strike resulting in the cancellation of Mardi Gras in 1979.

In 1982, Morial was reelected Mayor of New Orleans, after defeating Ron Faucheux. Two years later, Morial was elected President of the United States Council of Mayors. Ernest Nathan Morial died suddenly and unexpectedly on December 24, 1989, of a cardiac arrest.

Administrative Information

Accruals: Accruals to collection from 2003 onward.

Use Restrictions: Copyright to these papers has not been assigned to the Amistad Research Center. It is the responsibility of an author to secure permission for publication from the holder of the copyright to any material contained in this collection.

Acquisition Source: Mr. & Mrs. Ernest N. Morial

Acquisition Method: Gift

Related Materials: Ernest "Dutch" Morial was the husband of Sybil Haydel Morial and the father of Marc H. Morial. Related collections housed at the Amistad Research Center include those of Morial's father-in-law, Clarence Haydel and his son, Marc H. Morial.

Processing Information: Processed by Clarence Hunter, Beatrice Rodriguez Owsley, Philip S. MacLeod, Michael A. Polushin in 2000. Rehoused and reprocessed by Andrew Salinas in 2009.

Other Note: Correspondence Index attached as PDF

Other URL: http://www.amistadresearchcenter.org/pdfs/Archon/Ernest Morial Papers Correspondence Index.pdf

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Personal Papers, 1929-1995],
[Series 2: Campaigns and Legislation, 1963-1988],
[Series 3: City of New Orleans Mayoral Tenure, 1974-1985],
[Series 4: Community Service and Memberships, 1954-1985],
[Series 5: Legal Activities and Judicial Tenure, 1948-1977],
[Series 6: Collected Items, 1936-1991],
[Series 7: Multimedia, 1935-1985],
[All]

Series 3: City of New Orleans Mayoral Tenure, 1974-1985

This series contains documents from the transitional period of the Morial Administration to many of the daily operations of the Office of Mayor during Morial's two terms. Included are correspondence, reports, notes, statistical, financial and budgetary data. Official mayoral documents are located in the city archives at the main branch of the New Orleans Public Library.

Box 45: Accession to the Office of Mayor: Administrative planning

Folder 1: Agreements and contracts, 1978
Folder 2: Budget for transition period: Correspondence and financial schedules, 1977-1978
Folder 3: Correspondence, November 1977
Folder 4: Correspondence, December 1977
Folder 5: Correspondence, January 1978
Folder 6: Correspondence, February 1978
Folder 7: Correspondence, March-April 1978
Folder 8: Ecumenical service: Program, 1978
Folder 9: Financial matters: Bank statements, canceled checks, check stubs, 1978
Folder 10: Financial matters: Bills, invoices, account ledger, general, 1978
Folder 11: Financial matters: Bills, invoices, 1978
Folder 12: Financial matters: Correspondence, 1978
Folder 13: Guide to Mayoral Transition: Booklet, 1977
Folder 14: Institute for New Mayors: Case studies, correspondence, documents, 1968-1978
Folder 15: New Orleans Canal Inc: Correspondence, documents, 1964-1977
Folder 16: Planning documents, undated
Folder 17: Recommendations for Office of Mayor, 1978
Folder 18: Chief Administrative Officer: Correspondence, January-February 1978
Folder 19: Chief Administrative Officer: Correspondence, March-June 1978
Folder 20: Chief Administrative Officer: Departmental planning by transition teams, undated

Box 46: Accession to the Office of Mayor: Administrative and departmental planning

Folder 1: Chief Administrative Officer: Financial matters - Budget and expenditures, 1978
Folder 2: Chief Administrative Officer: Financial matters - Payroll, 1978
Folder 3: Chief Administrative Officer: Meeting schedules, notes, 1978
Folder 4: Personnel: Job descriptions, undated
Folder 5: Personnel: Materials for New Orleans city employees, undated
Folder 6: Personnel: Forms, 1978
Folder 7: Personnel: Recommendations, 1977-1978
Folder 8: Personnel: Resumes, 1978
Folder 9: Personnel: Selection of new police superintendent - Correspondence, lists, documents, 1977-1978
Folder 10: Personnel: Volunteer lists, 1978
Folder 11: Personnel: Press releases, 1978
Folder 12: Independent agencies proposals: Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation - Correspondence, printed materials, 1974-1978
Folder 13: Independent agencies proposals: Board of Education - Correspondence, documents, program, 1977
Folder 14: Independent agencies proposals: Bureau of Government Research - Correspondence, report, 1977-1978
Folder 15: Independent agencies proposals: Bywater Neighborhood Association - Correspondence, pamphlets, proposals, 1977
Folder 16: Independent agencies proposals: Downtown Development District - Correspondence, proposal, 1978
Folder 17: Independent agencies proposals: Economic Development Council - Newspaper articles, statements, 1978
Folder 18: Independent agencies proposals: French Market Corporation - Correspondence, 1978
Folder 19: Independent agencies proposals: Funding for the Arts Proposal, undated
Folder 20: Independent agencies proposals: New Orleans/Bayou River Health Systems Agency - Membership lists, selection guidelines, 1977
Folder 21: Independent agencies proposals: Women's programs - Correspondence, proposal, 1978

Box 47: Accession to the Office of Mayor: Departmental planning and transitional reports

Folder 1: Intergovernmental agencies proposals: City Council - Agenda, correspondence, ordinances, 1977-1978
Folder 2: Intergovernmental agencies proposals: City contracts - Correspondence, 1978
Folder 3: Intergovernmental agencies proposals: Jean Lafitte National Park hearings - Correspondence, fact book, list, newspaper articles, photographs, report, statements, 1977-1978
Folder 4: Intergovernmental agencies proposals: Legislative requests - Memoranda, request forms, 1977-1978
Folder 5: Intergovernmental agencies proposals: Manpower - Correspondence, memorandum, 1978
Folder 6: Intergovernmental agencies proposals: Municipal Yacht Harbor - Proposal, 1978
Folder 7: Intergovernmental agencies proposals: Transportation - Correspondence, 1978
Folder 8: Intergovernmental agencies proposals: U. S. Department of the Army - Informational package, photographs, 1977
Folder 9: Armstrong Park: Correspondence, reports, notes, 1978
Folder 10: Audubon Park: Correspondence, resumes, reports, 1978
Folder 11: Aviation Board: Correspondence, memoranda, reports, 1978
Folder 12: Board of City Liquidation: Correspondence, memoranda, 1978
Folder 13: Board of City Trusts: Report, 1978
Folder 14: Census Task Force: Report, 1978
Folder 15: Chief Administrative Office Finance Department: Correspondence, report, 1978
Folder 16: City Parks: Correspondence, pamphlet, 1976-1978

Box 48: Accession to the Office of Mayor: Transitional reports

Folder 1: City Planning Commission: Report, 1978
Folder 2: Civil Defense: Correspondence, report, 1978
Folder 3: Civil Service Commission: Correspondence, pamphlets, reports, 1976-1978
Folder 4: Clean City Committee: Report, 1978
Folder 5: Community Development: Correspondence, documents, 1978
Folder 6: Community Improvement Agency: Correspondence, legislation, pamphlets, 1978
Folder 7: Consumer Affairs: Correspondence, job description, reports, 1978
Folder 8: Core Area Development District: Memorandum, report, 1978
Folder 9: Council on Aging: Reports, 1978

Box 49: Accession to the Office of Mayor: Transitional reports

Folder 1: Criminal Justice Coordinating Council: Charts, correspondence, resumes, 1978
Folder 2: Criminal Justice Coordinating Council: Report, 1978
Folder 3: Bureau of Drug Affairs: Correspondence, reports, 1978
Folder 4: Environmental Design: Memorandum, questionnaire, report, 1978
Folder 5: Finance Department: Correspondence, documents, 1978-1979
Folder 6: Fire Department: Reports, 1978
Folder 7: Fire Department: Documents, 1972-1976
Folder 8: Fiscal Management: Report, 1978
Folder 9: French Market Corporation: Memorandum, reports, 1978

Box 50: Accession to the Office of Mayor: Transitional reports

Folder 1: Health Department: Correspondence, reports, 1978
Folder 2: Health Department: Interim reports, papers, 1978
Folder 3: Health Department: Final report, 1978
Folder 4: Historic Districts and Landmarks Commission: Job description, undated
Folder 5: Housing: Correspondence, handbook, reports, 1977-1978
Folder 6: Housing: Report on Housing Authority of New Orleans, 1978

Box 51: Accession to the Office of Mayor: Transitional reports

Folder 1: Housing Report on Community Improvement Agency, Part I, undated
Folder 2: Housing Report on Community Improvement Agency, Part II, undated
Folder 3: Human Relations Department: Job description, report, 1978
Folder 4: Hurricane Prevention Project: Correspondence, resolution, testimony, 1977
Folder 5: International Relations Office: Correspondence, 1978
Folder 6: Law (City Attorney): Correspondence, lists, resumes, 1978
Folder 7: Manpower and Economic Development: Correspondence, job description, memorandum, 1978
Folder 8: Mosquito Control: Correspondence, reports, pamphlets, 1978

Box 52: Accession to the Office of Mayor: Transitional reports

Folder 1: Municipal Courts: Correspondence, resumes, 1978
Folder 2: New Orleans Museum of Art: Budgets, reports, 1973, 1978
Folder 3: New Orleans Pine Belt Railroad: Correspondence, report, 1976-1978
Folder 4: New Orleans Public Library: Correspondence, report, 1978
Folder 5: New Orleans Recreation Department: Policy documents, memoranda, 1974-1977
Folder 6: New Orleans Recreation Department: Report, 1978
Folder 7: New Orleans Recreation Department: Rules and regulations, 1977

Box 53: Accession to the Office of Mayor: Transitional reports

Folder 1: Pension Funds: Correspondence, documents, 1978
Folder 2: Piazza D'Italia: Job descriptions, reports, 1978
Folder 3: Policy Planning: Correspondence, memoranda, reports, questionnaire, 1977-1978
Folder 4: Property Management: Job descriptions, reports, resumes, 1978
Folder 5: Public Relations: Correspondence, resumes, 1978
Folder 6: Safety and Permits: Correspondence, 1978
Folder 7: Sanitation: Correspondence, memorandum, report, 1978
Folder 8: Sewerage and Water Board: Report, 1978

Box 54: Accession to the Office of Mayor: Transitional reports

Folder 1: Streets: Memorandum, pamphlets, reports, 1978
Folder 2: Traffic and Pedestrian Safety: Correspondence, job description, report, 1978
Folder 3: Transit: Reports, 1977-1978
Folder 4: Treatment Alternatives to Street Crime: Documents, proposal, report, 1977-1978
Folder 5: Upper Pontalba Building Commission: Correspondence, report, 1978
Folder 6: Utilities: Correspondence, report, resumes, 1978
Folder 7: Vieux Carre Commission: Correspondence, reports, 1977-1978

Box 55: Transitional reports and 1978-1982 Mayoral Administration

Folder 1: Welfare: Report, 1978
Folder 2: Welfare: Correspondence, financial reports, 1976-1978
Folder 3: Administrative beginnings: Inauguration, agenda, documents, invitations, programs, 1978-1980
Folder 4: Biloxi conference: Goals, charts, 1980
Folder 5: Planning Commission report: "Individual Data for Capital Projects, 1982-1986", 1981
Folder 6: Planning Commission: Planning chart, 1977
Folder 7: Department Affairs: City projects, 1978, 1982
Folder 8: Interdepartmental Affairs: Chief Administrative Officer - correspondence, document, 1980-1981
Folder 9: Interdepartmental Affairs: City Attorney - Memoranda, 1980
Folder 10: Interdepartmental Affairs: Civil Service Department - Correspondence, 1980
Folder 11: Interdepartmental Affairs: Department of Corrections - Correction policies, 1980
Folder 12: Interdepartmental Affairs: Department of Finance - Memoranda, 1980
Folder 13: Interdepartmental Affairs: Department of Welfare - Correspondence, memorandum, report, 1978-1981
Folder 14: Salary schedules, 1981-1982
Folder 15: Intergovernmental Affairs: City Council meeting, 1978
Folder 16: Intergovernmental Affairs: City Council ordinances, 1977, 1980
Folder 17: Intergovernmental Affairs: City Council resolution, 1981
Folder 18: International Affairs: African trade trip - Correspondence, 1979-1980
Folder 19: National Affairs: Urban partnership meeting, 1980
Folder 20: Office of the Mayor: Capital budget, 1979-1983
Folder 21: Office of the Mayor: Correspondence, 1978

Box 56: 1978-1982 Mayoral Administration

Folder 1: Office of the Mayor: Correspondence, 1979
Folder 2: Office of the Mayor: Correspondence, 1980
Folder 3: Office of the Mayor: Correspondence, 1981
Folder 4: Office of the Mayor: Correspondence - Harriet Burnett, Administrative Assistant, 1979-1980
Folder 5: Deep South Fashion Exhibitors: Correspondence, notes, 1980
Folder 6: Office of the Mayor: French Market Corporation - Capital program and budget, 1980-1981
Folder 7: Office of the Mayor: Personal matters - Sidney Bach correspondence, 1979
Folder 8: Office of the Mayor: Personal matters - William Jefferson correspondence, court documents, press release, newspaper clippings, 1978, 1981
Folder 9: Personal services contracts, 1978
Folder 10: Police matters: Algiers incident - Correspondence, 1980-1981
Folder 11: Police matters: Correspondence, 1980-1981
Folder 12: Police matters: Informational matters - Press releases, report, 1978-1979
Folder 13: Police matters: Inter-office memoranda, 1981
Folder 14: Police matters: Office of Municipal Investigations - Commentary, correspondence, document, 1981
Folder 15: Police matters: Citizens' complaints - Documents, materials, pamphlets, 1975-1981
Folder 16: Police matters: "Police Magazine", 1981
Folder 17: Police matters: Recruitment - Documents, memoranda, programs, 1980-1981
Folder 18: Police matters: Training - Report, undated
Folder 19: Police matters: Suspension of police officers - Correspondence, legal briefs, press releases, 1981
Folder 20: Police matters: Training academy - Correspondence, working document, 1981
Folder 21: Public relations: Blacks in City Government - Booklet, 1981
Folder 22: Public relations: Black groups - Lists, 1978-1979
Folder 23: Public relations: Chamber of Commerce - Lists of organizations, 1978-1979
Folder 24: Public relations: "City of New Orleans News", 1978-1981
Folder 25: Public relations: Fact Sheets of Basic Human Services, 1981

Box 57: 1978-1982 Mayoral Administration

Folder 1: Public relations: Metropolitan Area Commission - Lists, surveys, 1978-1980
Folder 2: Public relations: Media relations - WLTH Interurban Broadcasts, cassette tape, correspondence, documents, 1979: Contains audiovisual materials
Folder 3: Public relations: Media relations - Media information, lists, memoranda, 1978-1982: Contains audiovisual materials
Folder 4: Public relations: Mid-Term Report, 1982
Folder 5: Public relations: Neighborhood organizations - Correspondence, newsletters, 1978-1979
Folder 6: Public relations: Neighborhood Revitalization Project - Informational material, 1978
Folder 7: Public relations: 1978 Platform Report, 1982
Folder 8: Public relations: VIGOR - Volunteer lists, 1979
Folder 9: Public relations: Women's organizations - Directory, platform, 1980
Folder 10: Reports: Health Department - Correspondence, working papers, 1978
Folder 11: Reports: Mayor's Housing Task Force - Final report, 1979
Folder 12: Reports: Minority Business Utilization - Reports, 1981
Folder 13: Reports: Revenue Revision Task Force - Final report, 1980
Folder 14: Social matters: Annual Brotherhood Banquet - Program, 1978
Folder 15: Social matters: Anniversary Celebration - Invitation, memorandum, 1980
Folder 16: Social matters: Black Officials Reception - Correspondence, lists, 1979
Folder 17: Social matters: Consular Corps Reception - Correspondence, lists, 1980
Folder 18: Social matters: Duck Dinner - Correspondence, lists, notes, 1980
Folder 19: Social matters: A. J. Duplantier Reception - Invitations, notes, 1980
Folder 20: Social matters: Fire Chief's Dinner - Correspondence, lists, notes, 1981
Folder 21: Social matters: Guest lists, 1981-1982

Box 58: 1978-1982 and 1982-1986 Mayoral Administrations

Folder 1: Social matters: Holocaust Survivors Reception - Correspondence, invitation, lists, speech, 1980
Folder 2: Social matters: Mardi Gras in Washington D.C. - Correspondence, 1979-1981
Folder 3: Social matters: Nature Center Opening - Invitations, notes, 1978
Folder 4: Social matters: New Orleans Museum of Art Reception - Correspondence, notes, lists, 1978
Folder 5: Social matters: August Perez Reception - Lists, notes, 1980
Folder 6: Social matters: Reception for French Cabinet Minister, 1981
Folder 7: Social matters: Leon Rochelle Dinner - Invitation, lists, 1980
Folder 8: Social matters: Sugar Bowl Reception - Correspondence, lists, notes, 1979-1980
Folder 9: Social matters: Une Soiree des Arts - Correspondence, lists, notes, 1981
Folder 10: Social matters: Visit of the Prime Minister of Ireland - Correspondence, lists, notes, 1979
Folder 11: Special events: Dedication of the Martin Luther King Statue - Program, 1981
Folder 12: Special events: Dedication of the Tureaud Building - Program, 1981
Folder 13: Survey of Citizen Attitudes: Interoffice memorandum, 1980
Folder 14: Administrative beginnings: Inauguration program and Ecumenical Inaugural Services program, 1982
Folder 15: Budget messages, 1983
Folder 16: City Council affairs: Correspondence, ordinance, 1982-1984
Folder 17: Commissions and committees: Commission on the Future of the City - Booklet, 1985
Folder 18: Commissions and committees: Committee to Honor Dutch Morial - Correspondence, lists, media news, 1986
Folder 19: Commissions and committees: Office of Special Assistant to the Mayor - Prospectus, 1986
Folder 20: Commissions and committees: Regional Planning Commission - Agenda, correspondence, minutes, 1982
Folder 21: Correspondence, March-June 1982
Folder 22: Correspondence, July-December 1982
Folder 23: Correspondence, 1983
Folder 24: Correspondence, 1984
Folder 25: Correspondence, 1985
Folder 26: Correspondence: Harriet Burnett, 1983-1985
Folder 27: Correspondence: Harriet Burnett, 1983-1985
Folder 28: Financial matters: "A Report on the City's Finances," invoice, 1984
Folder 29: General administrative matters, 1982-1983
Folder 30: Homestead Exemption Election: Correspondence, itinerary, memoranda, surveys, 1982
Folder 31: Mayoral portrait: Checks, correspondence, invoices, 1985-1986

Box 59: 1982-1986 Mayoral Administration

Folder 1: Media reports, 1985
Folder 2: Police Department: Scooter donations - Correspondence, checks, 1985
Folder 3: Political studies: Renwick reports on opinions and attitudes of New Orleans voters, Institute of Politics poll, 1982-1985
Folder 4: Public relations: Brochures, directory, newsletters, pamphlets, 1982-1985
Folder 5: Social events: Mayor's Birthday Party - Contract, 1986
Folder 6: Social events: Reception for Dr. Jung - Correspondence, lists, memorandum, notes, 1983
Folder 7: Social events: Special events - Invitations, memoranda, notes, 1982-1984
Folder 8: World's Fair Exposition: Brochures, correspondence, 1983-1984