Though not tall in stature, Sybil Haydel Morial was a tower of grace, kindness, dignity and strength who inspired generations of servant leaders. For the past three decades, she was the matriarch of New Orleans politics. And now she鈥檚 gone.
Her family announced . She was 91.
"Like many women of the Civil Rights Era, she was the steel in the movement鈥檚 spine,鈥� the Morial family said in a statement. 鈥淔rom the moment she met our late father, Ernest 鈥楧utch鈥� Morial, they were joined in the fight for justice and equality.鈥疭he confronted the hard realities of Jim Crow with unwavering courage and faith, which she instilled not only in her own children but in every life she touched.鈥�
As the city鈥檚 who , Dutch Morial faced obstacles no previous mayor had to endure.聽
Sybil was just as tenacious and just as fearless, but in a quiet yet iron-willed way 鈥� the .
She never ran for public office, despite persistent encouragement. Instead, she used her platforms as a beloved first lady, activist and senior administrator at Xavier University of 抖阴h to help others shine. And when she lent her voice to a campaign, it mattered.
I had the great honor of knowing Sybil Morial not just as a first lady and civic leader, but also as a friend and mentor. She would cross a busy street to offer a kind word, a smile and a hug, or even a gentle but deserved admonition. She treated her friends like family. In that way, she reminded me of several other influential women of her era 鈥� Leah Chase, Lindy Boggs and Ella Brennan, each of whom she counted as friends. Like them, she radiated a warmth and strength that left everyone who knew her feeling grateful and uplifted.
鈥淪he was the gentlest yet strongest woman I鈥檝e ever known,鈥� said Bill Schultz, a New Orleans political consultant who got his start in politics as Dutch Morial鈥檚 chief bodyguard. 鈥淪he was the kind of person who still wrote handwritten thank-you notes. She sent me a beautiful handwritten note after Dutch died.鈥�
In the spring of 1993, speculation ran high that she or her eldest son Marc, then a freshman state senator, would run for mayor the following year. Then-Mayor Sidney Barthelemy was term-limited, and the field promised to be crowded.
I joined a small panel of journalists talking to the Loyola Institute of Politics class at the Morial home that spring. When someone asked the inevitable question about who was likely to be New Orleans鈥� next mayor, I glanced at Sybil and said, 鈥淚 have a feeling SOMEONE named Morial is going to run.鈥�
She asked me to stay after the class had left, and we talked at length about the next mayor鈥檚 race. The job was hers if she wanted it, but she knew more than most how demanding that job would be. As we talked, I sensed that she would not run.聽
She didn鈥檛, but Marc did. Though he officially joined the race late in the game, he immediately became the front-runner. The Morial name had that much magic, thanks in no small measure to Sybil, who happily stepped aside to let her son blaze his political trail. Marc Morial served two transformative terms as mayor and now leads the National Urban League.
Among the many causes she embraced, Sybil had a special devotion to the Louis 鈥淪atchmo鈥� Armstrong Summer Jazz Camp, a program of the nonprofit New Orleans Arts and Cultural Host Committee. She served as NOACHC鈥檚 president since its inception in 1995.
In a statement, Grammy-winning jazz master Wynton Marsalis said her service to the camp 鈥渃ontributed to the future success of thousands of aspiring jazz musicians.鈥�
When her family鈥檚 home flooded during Hurricane Katrina, she moved to Baton Rouge for eight years, but her heart remained in New Orleans. She published a memoir that she hoped would be a small but meaningful gift to her children and grandchildren.
Her book, 鈥淲itness to Change: From Jim Crow to Political Empowerment,鈥� was . Among the lessons she shared from her experiences growing up in segregated New Orleans was 鈥渘ot to be bitter and angry but to do things that would bring about change.鈥�
Her son Jacques noted that, despite the book鈥檚 title, his mom was much more than a witness. She was a quiet but irresistible force for change.
As an educator, civic leader, civil and human rights advocate, author, mentor, wife and mom, Sybil Haydel Morial had an enormous impact on the arc of New Orleans and American history. Her legacy will live on in the many lives she touched.
Rest in power, sweet friend.