Civil rights activist Sybil Morial, wife of the first black mayor of New Orleans, dies at the age of 91

NEW ORLEANS– Sybil Haydel Morial, civil rights activist, widow of New Orleans’ first black mayor, Dutch Morial, and mother of former mayor Marc Morial, has died at the age of 91.

Her family announced her death Wednesday in a statement issued by the National Urban League, whose president and CEO is Marc Morial. Details about the time and cause of death were not disclosed.

“She faced the harsh reality of Jim Crow laws with unwavering courage and faith, which she imparted not only to her own children but to everyone she came into contact with,” the statement said.

Sybil Morial met Ernest Nathan “Dutch” Morial in the summer of 1954. She supported him in his runs for parliament and mayor while working as a teacher and raising their five children.

Morial was also a leader in her own right, founding the Louisiana League of Good Government, which helped blacks register to vote, and holding numerous positions at Xavier University, one of the city’s historically black institutions.

She also supported the construction of a pavilion dedicated to the African-American experience at the 1984 World’s Fair in New Orleans and participated in the production of a documentary film about the city’s desegregation.

“Ms. Morial’s legacy as matriarch of the iconic Morial family and her own contributions to civil rights and the city of New Orleans will forever be remembered with awe and gratitude,” U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, a Democrat from New Orleans, said in a press release.