NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans has lost a former first lady, longtime educator and civil rights pioneer.
On Tuesday, Sybil Morial passed away at University Medical Center.
She is remembered not just as a witness to change, but as a powerful force in the fight for justice and equality.
“A soldier, a leader, an icon, gone too soon,” Rep. Troy Carter, D-Louisiana said.
“Sybil Haydel Morial is a giant in New Orleans history, and I know the entire city mourns her passing,” former Mayor Mitch Landrieu said. “Few women have played such an outsized role in the recent history of New Orleans.”
The future first lady grew up in the segregated South.
In a 2014 interview with Sally Ann Roberts, Mrs. Morial said it was a hard time, but it was the reality of the day.
“In one incident we children were put out of City Park by a policeman that came after us with a nightstick and called us bad names,” she said. “So, we had to live with that.”
She met a young Dutch Morial on a trip home from college in 1954.
They would become a power couple advancing social and civil rights in the community and on a national scale.
Her husband was elected the city’s first black mayor in 1978.
“I think the Morial legacy is you have to become a part of change, that every step is important, that we have the vote, we have a black mayor, even later we had a black president,” Sybil Morial said. “But we’re not done yet.”
Political pollster and family friend Silas Lee described Morial as a lioness who did not need to roar and who had the elegance of a queen and the tenacity of a warrior.
“She did not see obstacles as challenges, but as steps to success,” Lee said. “She was not deterred by people who said you shouldn’t do something, or you cannot do something because of the social climate or other barriers.”
Morial’s son Marc served as New Orleans mayor from 1994 to 2002 and is now president of the National Urban League.
She leaves behind five children and seven grandchildren.
Current Mayor LaToya Cantrell called Morial, “A New Orleans treasure and trailblazer… who fought tirelessly to break barriers and pave the way for future generations.”
The Morial family released a statement in part saying, "Words cannot express our sorrow at the loss of our beloved matriarch and guiding star. Our grief is tempered by our overwhelming gratitude for her life, her wisdom, and her love…She remains the 'First Lady' to generations of New Orleanians, who join her children, Dr. Julie Morial, Hon. Marc H. Morial, Mr. Jacques E. Morial, Ms. Cheri Morial Ausberry, Hon. Monique Morial; her seven grandchildren, her great-granddaughter, and a host of friends, family, and associates in our grief. We ask for the continued prayers of all who knew and loved her, and that our privacy be respected as we mourn our loss. A celebration of life will be announced soon."
Sybil Morial was 91 years old.
