The Gumbo Coalition

Learn key lessons on diversity and inclusion from front-line expert Marc Morial, CEO of the National Urban League and former mayor of New Orleans. Marc Morial knew his calling from a young age was to be a leader in the fight for meaningful change. Growing up in the segregated South and helping his father realize an incredible victory as the first African American mayor of New Orleans, Morial was shown that significant change is possible. Less than two decades later in his own mayoral race in New Orleans, Morial built what he christened the “Gumbo Coalition,” an incredible mixture of all of New Orleans’s ingredients--African Americans, Whites, Latinos, Asians, business leaders, grassroots community activists, business leaders, clergy, and more. Each ingredient brought its own flavor, creating a dish that was able to reduce crime and rebuild New Orleans’s reputation with such power that the city successfully attracted an NBA franchise, multiple Super Bowls, and the Essence Festival, the largest African American event in the nation. Now, Morial fights on behalf of the National Urban League to create a community with a voice so strong that nothing can stand in the way of change. He is ready to teach others what he has learned along the way, by showing readers what it means to be a leader who can unite voices and create meaningful change.