Amistad’s LGBTQ collections grew with the 2011 Larry Bagneris papers donation.
A Lifetime of Achievement: Sybil Morial Papers
Jasmaine Talley
No items found.
As we celebrate National Women’s History Month, the Amistad Research Center is proud to announce that the papers of Sybil Morial are open and available for research. This project was completed with funding assistance from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant project, “A Range of Experiences: Documenting African American Women’s History and Achievements. The papers of Sybil Morial, which includes correspondence, organization records and photographs, represents a lifetime of achievement, activism, civic engagement and a commitment to education.
Sybil Gayle Haydel was born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1932, to Eudora Arnaud and Clarence C. Haydel, the second of four children. She grew up in a middle-class Black Creole family in the Seventh Ward.
Sybil Haydel was educated in parochial schools in New Orleans and graduated Xavier University Preparatory High School. She attended Xavier University of Louisiana before transferring to Boston University and graduating with a bachelor of science degree in elementary education in 1952. She earned a master’s in education from Boston University in 1955. In 1955, she married Ernest N. “Dutch” Morial, a prominent civil rights lawyer. They have five children: Julie, Marc, Jacques, Cheri and Monique. From 1959 to 1971, Sybil Morial worked in the Orleans Parish School System in New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1977, she became the director of the Special Services Program at Xavier University of Louisiana, the year before Dutch Morial would become the first African-American mayor of New Orleans. She would spend the next twenty-eight years at Xavier University in many different capacities before retiring in 2005.
Other activities documented within her papers include her organizing the Louisiana League of Good Government; its mission was to increase Black voter registration and turnout. She also established the Ernest N. Morial Asthma Center at the LSU Medical Center for the study of asthma, the condition that contributed to her husband’s death in 1989. A larger portion of her papers also document her work with the International Women’s Forum and its regional chapter, the Louisiana Women’s Forum. These records demonstrate Sybil Morial’s commitment to mentoring women in leadership, particularly in New Orleans. She also is a longtime member of the Amistad Research Center board of directors.
Today, Sybil Morial remains dedicated to the city of New Orleans and to lending her experience and knowledge to future generations of leaders and activists.
Link to finding aid | Sybil Morial and the League of Good Government
Images from Amistad’s website, newsletters and blogs cannot be reproduced without permission.
Explore More Articles
Kathe Hambrick is the Founder and former Executive Director of the River Road African American Museum (RRAAM), established in 1994 as Louisiana’s first African American Museum. She is a past President of the national Association of African American Museums (AAAM). She served as the Chief Curator and Director of Interpretation for the West Baton Rouge Museum for four years. Hambrick was born in New Orleans and spent half her life in California where she received an undergraduate degree in English and a minor in African American Studies from California State University Long Beach.
Hambrick is a Public Historian with a passion for collecting, preserving and interpreting history for diverse audiences. Her thirty-one-year career as a museum professional includes expertise in program development, interpretative planning, curation, grant writing, fundraising, and board governance. She led the effort to preserve three slave cemeteries and six historic buildings in Ascension Parish.
She is considered an expert on the history and culture of African Americans in communities along the Mississippi River. Kathe Hambrick’s interviews include local, national, and international media, the BBC Learning Channel, CBS Morning News, National Public Radio, and the New York Times. The consulting firm, 2PRESERVE was established by Hambrick in 2021 to provide cultural resources and guidance to corporations, museums, cultural centers, government agencies, and faith-based organizations.
Throughout her 31-year career, Kathe has curated over one hundred exhibits, including The Rural Roots of Jazz, African Influences on Louisiana Cuisine, Creole Du Monde, and The Square Collection which featured original art by Elizabeth Catlett, Jacob Lawrence, Richmond Barthé, and Tina Allen. Her most recent exhibit is the GU272 of Ascension: The Jesuit and Episcopal Connection to Slavery.
Kathe is the author and co-author of several books:
Kathe Hambrick is the Founder and former Executive Director of the River Road African American Museum (RRAAM), established in 1994 as Louisiana’s first African American Museum. She is a past President of the national Association of African American Museums (AAAM). She served as the Chief Curator and Director of Interpretation for the West Baton Rouge Museum for four years. Hambrick was born in New Orleans and spent half her life in California where she received an undergraduate degree in English and a minor in African American Studies from California State University Long Beach.
Hambrick is a Public Historian with a passion for collecting, preserving and interpreting history for diverse audiences. Her thirty-one-year career as a museum professional includes expertise in program development, interpretative planning, curation, grant writing, fundraising, and board governance. She led the effort to preserve three slave cemeteries and six historic buildings in Ascension Parish.
She is considered an expert on the history and culture of African Americans in communities along the Mississippi River. Kathe Hambrick’s interviews include local, national, and international media, the BBC Learning Channel, CBS Morning News, National Public Radio, and the New York Times. The consulting firm, 2PRESERVE was established by Hambrick in 2021 to provide cultural resources and guidance to corporations, museums, cultural centers, government agencies, and faith-based organizations.
Throughout her 31-year career, Kathe has curated over one hundred exhibits, including The Rural Roots of Jazz, African Influences on Louisiana Cuisine, Creole Du Monde, and The Square Collection which featured original art by Elizabeth Catlett, Jacob Lawrence, Richmond Barthé, and Tina Allen. Her most recent exhibit is the GU272 of Ascension: The Jesuit and Episcopal Connection to Slavery.
Kathe is the author and co-author of several books:
Kathe Hambrick is the Founder and former Executive Director of the River Road African American Museum (RRAAM), established in 1994 as Louisiana’s first African American Museum. She is a past President of the national Association of African American Museums (AAAM). She served as the Chief Curator and Director of Interpretation for the West Baton Rouge Museum for four years. Hambrick was born in New Orleans and spent half her life in California where she received an undergraduate degree in English and a minor in African American Studies from California State University Long Beach.
Hambrick is a Public Historian with a passion for collecting, preserving and interpreting history for diverse audiences. Her thirty-one-year career as a museum professional includes expertise in program development, interpretative planning, curation, grant writing, fundraising, and board governance. She led the effort to preserve three slave cemeteries and six historic buildings in Ascension Parish.
She is considered an expert on the history and culture of African Americans in communities along the Mississippi River. Kathe Hambrick’s interviews include local, national, and international media, the BBC Learning Channel, CBS Morning News, National Public Radio, and the New York Times. The consulting firm, 2PRESERVE was established by Hambrick in 2021 to provide cultural resources and guidance to corporations, museums, cultural centers, government agencies, and faith-based organizations.
Throughout her 31-year career, Kathe has curated over one hundred exhibits, including The Rural Roots of Jazz, African Influences on Louisiana Cuisine, Creole Du Monde, and The Square Collection which featured original art by Elizabeth Catlett, Jacob Lawrence, Richmond Barthé, and Tina Allen. Her most recent exhibit is the GU272 of Ascension: The Jesuit and Episcopal Connection to Slavery.
Kathe is the author and co-author of several books: