November 12, 1977 – Ernest Nathan Morial, First African American Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana

In 1978, Ernest “Dutch” Morial was sworn in as the first African American mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana. A longtime civil rights activist in the city, Morial enjoyed an impressive career filled with many other firsts, including winning election to the state’s House of Representatives as the first African American legislator in that body since the Reconstruction era.

Morial died suddenly on Christmas Eve of 1989, but his son, Marc, continued his father’s legacy of achievement when he was elected mayor of New Orleans in 1994.

He is married to the former Sybil Haydel, of a prominent New Orleans family, and they have three daughters and two sons.