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Friday, July 25, 2003

By Ervin Dyer, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

As the National Urban League's annual conference puts the spotlight on America's black families, one father in particular will march into the glare: the league's newest leader, Marc Morial.

Morial, who took office two months ago, will deliver his first major national address at the conference Sunday night, setting the tone and themes for both the gathering and his organization.

They are themes he knows well: economic empowerment, racial inclusion and active, vocal involvement in community change.

	Marc Morial, National Urban League president: He wants the league's voice to grow louder on the stubborn social and economic wedge of disparity that chokes black progress. ((Bill Wade, Post-Gazette)

Morial was raised in a socially and politically prominent civil rights family in New Orleans. His late father was a civil rights veteran and politician and his mother a university administrator.

"My family was involved with civil rights, social groups and all kinds of things," he said. "Involvement for us was a core value."

After attending the University of Pennsylvania and Georgetown Law School, the charismatic Morial went into politics. He became a Louisiana state senator and eventually a two-term mayor of New Orleans.

As mayor from 1994 to 2002, he was widely credited with getting tough on crime and making streets safe for residents and tourists.

He was also given high marks for caring about the down-and-out, backing programming and funding that drew support from black and white, rich and poor.

Despite criticisms of patronage and news reports -- which he denied -- of a hospital emergency related to cocaine, when he ran for a second term, he won nine out of every 10 votes.

Now, at age 45, he comes to the Urban League.

By most indications, he inherits an organization that is faring well. The league has a diverse, multiracial board composed of some of the top corporate executives in the United States, a budget of more than $40 million and a restored sense of mission, thanks to Hugh Price, 61, former president who resigned in May.

That frees Morial to focus on the big picture.

He wants the league's voice to grow louder on the stubborn social and economic wedge of disparity that chokes black progress.

"I call it the equality gap," he said. "It runs across many lines, including education, home ownership, entrepreneurship, health and civic participation."

By relying on the league's solid infrastructure and its outreach from "the streets to the suites," said Morial, "we should be able to build a broad-based support for change."

Morial's plan to seek a higher profile for the group will be a departure from his predecessor. Price was soft-spoken and cerebral, more comfortable solidifying the league while remaining out of the glare.

Many see Morial's leadership as an example of what more civil rights organizations should do: turn the reins over to a younger generation.

He has energy, passion and vitality, said Susan Howell, a political analyst with the Survey Research Center at the University of New Orleans. For more than 15 years, the center has monitored New Orleans politics and quality of life issues.

Morial wanted to stay as mayor. He initiated an effort to change the city charter to extend mayoral term limits. When it failed, racial realities of Louisiana politics limited his options for statewide office, Howell said.

"There was nowhere to go. Seeking the governorship would have been difficult. He had to turn to a national forum," Howell said. "It's a shame Louisiana has lost Marc."

Morial didn't seek the Urban League post; he was approached by a search committee, entering a pool of more than 200 candidates.

His legal and political background have given him a legitimacy that many feel can move the organization forward.

"He's very smart and capable," said Ed Renwick, director of the Institute for Politics at Loyola University in New Orleans.

"He was a good spokesman for New Orleans. He is stylish and articulate. I'm sure that will help [in his national post] very much," said Renwick.

In many ways, Morial was groomed to lead a national civil rights organization.

His father was noted civil rights warrior Ernest "Dutch" Morial, a man who cut through a thicket of racial barriers in Louisiana. He was the first black to get a law degree from Louisiana State University Law School, the first black since Reconstruction to be elected to the Louisiana House and the first black mayor of New Orleans, in 1977.

When his father went to NAACP or civil rights meetings, he took along Marc and his younger brother, Jacque.

"When my father entered into politics, I was 9 years old and it was a great opportunity to be exposed to great leaders," said Morial. "It gave me confidence. As I grew older, I got interested in doing things I had seen as a boy."

Morial's family today includes his wife, Michelle Miller, a New Orleans anchorwoman, their 15-month-old son, Mason; and Kemah, his 21-year-old daughter from a previous relationship.

Outside of the office, Morial unwinds by listening to jazz, blues, rap and gospel music. A high school basketball and football player, he remains an avid sports fan who enjoys water skiing and keeps himself fit with gym workouts.

Though driven, Morial described himself as a man who loves to laugh. His one guilt about his public career is that it robs him of more time with his family.

But he is growing accustomed to and salutes his bigger family: the hundreds of staff who make up the 105 Urban League affiliates around the country.

"There are so many unsung heroes whose commitment to serving people is outstanding."