Growing importance of African American voters in New Orleans politics
Landrieu offers his interpretation of the important changes in New Orleans politics since World War II. Citing the administration of Mayor Chep Morrison from 1946 to 1961 as an especially progressive time in New Orleans politics, Landrieu stresses that the growing number of registered African American voters rendered the black vote an increasingly important factor. By 1970, when Landrieu was elected with ninety-five percent of that constituency's vote, the "race issue" had become a primary factor in the shaping of New Orleans politics.
Citing this Excerpt
Oral History Interview with Moon Landrieu, January 10-11, 1974. Interview A-0089. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Full Text of the Excerpt
- JACK BASS:
-
The first question that I would like to ask is about the changes in New
Orleans politics since 1948 and especially in the sense that New Orleans
at least had a reputation at the beginning of that period of probably
being, more than any other southern city, as a city of machine politics.
I don't mean that necessarily as a majority phrase. To what extent has
there been change in New Orleans and what has taken place? What is the
situation insofar as the kind of New Orleans politics and how it
operates?
- MAYOR MOON LANDRIEU:
-
I don't know if I am really competent to comment on the period prior to
1960, which was the date that I became actively engaged in politics. In
any event, with that disclaimer I would then go back, you see, I don't
think you can quite measure it from '48, you may be able to do so. But
you have to put it in the perspective of what New Orleans was before
1946, which was sort of a turning point for this city.
Prior to 1946, there was a very strong tie between the city
administration and the state administration. They had sort of dominated
the state-city politics. Then, in 1946, Chep Morrison, a 36 year old
reform Governon returning war Colonel, ran for Mayor and was elected
which began 16 years of what you might say was progressive government. I
don't mean reform in the sense of . . . in the general sense that it is
usually accepted. But nonetheless he was a bright, intelligent,
aggressive, good politician. I think it was about that time that the
racial attitudes began to change a little bit. I don't suggest that it
was anywhere approaching equality, but I think that a definite shift
began to take place. It was at that point too, I think, roughly about
1948, if my memory serves correctly, and I was quite young at the time,
that blacks began to get registered in any numbers at all in the City of
New Orleans. Prior to that time, while they always had significant
numbers of blacks living in the city, there were very few registered to
vote in the City of New Orleans. As that registration began to build,
they became, if not a significant force, they nonetheless became a
voting group that certainly had exended. So the politics from a racial
standpoint became more liberal. Morrison in 1948 also, while he was
a progressive reform-minded mayor, nonetheless, was
an excellent politician. He believed very strongly in the Ward-Precinct
system which he had come up through. Not because he came up as a member
of that system, but nonetheless he had watched it work and he believed
in it. He aligned himself with incumbent office holders; ward leaders
traditionally had department head jobs, Clerks of Court, some of the
Parochial Officers. He had an organization known as the CCDA He actively
participated in every election, with candidates across the board, that
kind of machine politics. I would say that that system lasted until
Mascero came into office. The first big change, I think, really came in
1962, when Eddie Duponche who is now a state senator, and was at that
time a state senator, ran for Mayor. I ran on that ticket also as a
Councilman at large. We lost the election in the run-off with the racial
issue being the predominant issue. Heretofore you have to bear in mind
that although race had been raised as an issue, Morrison had won four
straight elections with people saying, that were advocates for the
blacks. But he hadn't gotten elected on the black vote. Chep first got
elected when there were virtually no black votes in the city. He got
elected by white votes and the black registration began to build up
and because he was moderate on the subject in
terms of those days, in terms of perspective of that era. The black vote
always was with Chep Morrison. So, he was the incumbent and that is the
way it lasted for sixteen years. Two years . . . a year prior to the end
of his terms, which would have been the fifteenth year of this
administration he became Ambassador for the American States and the City
Council then had to select the Mayor from one of the two Councilmen at
large and they selected Vick Scuro, and he had to run the following
year. But he was running then as an incumbent not having been elected
now. When Adrian and I ran, Vick Scuro was one of the principal
opponents and we got to the second primary with him and we had gotten
all of the black vote or at least a significant portion of the black
vote, and he proceeded to say, you know, "Go against the old
southern block voting." That issue was raised in that campaign
and we lost. So, we went through the next eight years of the Scuro
administration. It was sort of a conservative regime. Then I ran and won
with maybe 95% of the black vote.
- JACK BASS:
-
This was what year?
- MAYOR MOON LANDRIEU:
-
This was 1970. I won, and politics then changed very radically in this
city. Because for the first time a candidate openly solicited, met with,
discussed black votes in an openly, publicly,
televised and a dramatic change in the political forces in the city. I
think it became evident that no one would ever win an election in this
city again based on race, and of course, I just ran for re-election
again and was elected. There really wasn't a great deal of opposition. I
don't mean that to be sounding self-serving, but it is just the way the
political thing developed, no major candidates qualified. I had three
opponents, but they really didn't make any great effort at it and
weren't terribly serious candidates.
- JACK BASS:
-
Was the Voting Rights Act of 1965 a significant factor in this change?
Did that result in a considerable increase in stimulating the black vote
and black recognition?
- MAYOR MOON LANDRIEU:
-
My recollection is that it did, but not as significant as many people
thought. As I recall we had about 35,000 registered voters, registered
black voters out of maybe 210,000 in 1962. But black registration was
increasing all the time. I think there are about 80,000 now. While a
sizeable portion of that increase could be attributable to the Voting
Rights Act, I think much of it is also attributed to the changing state
administration. The state administration got more liberal; therefore,
the registered voters became more liberal and they weren't discouraging
blacks from registering. As we got more liberal politicians in office,
those who were enjoying a certain rapport with the
black community and support, there wasn't what had been before, a most
unified effort to prevent blacks from voting and from registering. But I
would have to say that it accounted, the Voting Rights Act accounted for
a significant change.