First lady Jill Biden, former ambassador Andrew Young, and the Rev. Al Sharpton gathered on Monday to honor the life of Sybil Morial, a revered civil rights activist from New Orleans, during her funeral services. Morial, who passed away earlier this month at the age of 91, was the widow of Ernest N. “Dutch” Morial, the first Black mayor of New Orleans, and the mother of former Mayor Marc H. Morial.
The service was held at Xavier University, where Morial both attended school and devoted 28 years of her professional career. New Orleans news outlets reported that Biden conveyed her condolences through a video message shown to the attendees. Young, a long-time friend of Morial’s and former United Nations ambassador, remembered her fondly.
“There’s something magical, and spiritual, about the life of Sybil Morial that will never die,” Young told the mourners.
Rev. Al Sharpton, leading the National Action Network, spoke of her powerful influence on the movement for racial and gender equality.
“What Sybil Morial has done goes beyond her family, goes beyond her husband and goes beyond her children and grandchildren,” Sharpton expressed. “All of us are better because she decided to join the struggle to make the country better racially and gender-wise.”
Sharpton also conveyed condolences from Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff. Harris praised Morial’s life as one of immense impact, breaking barriers for many and serving as an enduring inspiration. “Mrs. Morial will be remembered for the light she brought to this world,” Harris wrote.
Former President Bill Clinton and former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton also extended their condolences, lauding Morial as “an extraordinary woman.”
Born on November 26, 1932, Sybil Morial was raised in deeply segregated New Orleans by her physician father and schoolteacher mother. She first attended Xavier University of Louisiana, one of the city’s historically Black institutions, before transferring to Boston University. It was there that she crossed paths with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who was studying divinity and guest-preaching at local churches, fueling Morial’s commitment to civil rights.
Morial’s activism included founding the Louisiana League of Good Government to assist Black residents in voter registration during a time when they faced daunting tests like memorizing the Preamble to the Constitution. Moreover, she was a plaintiff in a lawsuit against a Louisiana law that prevented public school teachers from being involved in anti-segregation efforts, according to the LSU Women’s Center.
Marc Morial, now leading the National Urban League, reflected on the monumental loss felt by New Orleans with his mother’s passing.
“She is one of the last living personalities from that magic era of the 50s and 60s who opened doors so that we could walk through them,” he said.
Marc and his siblings reminisced about the traits they each inherited from their mother. His brother, Jacques, and sister, Julie, got their intelligence from her, while sister Cherie acquired her ability to make friends easily, and Monique inherited her disciplined demeanor. Marc himself cherished his mother’s skill of multitasking.
“She could cook, talk to you on the phone, help us with homework and every hair would still be in place. She was masterful in carrying out many things at one time,” he fondly recalled.
In his closing words, Marc made a poignant call to St. Peter, one of Jesus’s Twelve Apostles, to prepare for his mother’s arrival.
“Open the gates! Sound the trumpet! Roll out the red carpet! Our queen is coming your way!” he proclaimed, as applause filled the room.
