The Gumbo Coalition

10 Leadership Lessons That Help You Inspire, Unite, and Achieve

Marc Morial

• Publisher: HarperCollins Leadership
• Year: 2020
• eBook ISBN: 9781400216291
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Leadership
• Index: Politics & International Relations

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.

Index

ABA. see American Basketball Association

ABC (network), 122

Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem, 49

Abraham, Yohanes, 126

“Acceptance of LGBT people and rights has increased around the world” (Williams Institute), 191n.1 (Section Two)

accountability, 119–20, 124–25

ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union), 21

ACT (All Congregations Together), 20

adaptability, 116

“advisor” networker type, 139

advocacy, by NUL, 169–70

affect, 85

Affordable Care Act, 51–52

African Americans

aftermath of Hurricane Katrina for, 81

ban on blood donations by, 66

benefits of Obama’s policies for, 51–52

and Dallas Plan for recovery, 75

effects of MOU approach to diversity for, 169, 174–76

as employees of tech firms, 175

in Great Migration, 180–82

in Gumbo Coalition, xv

implications of Obama’s candidacy for, 126

and League of Women Voters, 139

on Louisiana judiciary, 38, 42, 44–45

in Louisiana legislature, 42

Smiley and West’s reputation among, 123

unemployment rate for, 121, 126

on US federal judiciary, 52

airport safety measures, 91–92

Ali, Muhammad, 13, 22, 62

alignment of team and resources

in fast start, 12, 13

for NUL restructuring, 24

for public safety plan, 18–21

All Congregations Together (ACT), 20

Alphabet Inc., 175

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, 22

American Basketball Association (ABA), 158, 159, 187

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), 21

American Express, 175

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, 52, 121

American Red Cross, 66, 76

Anacostia neighborhood (Washington, DC), 34

André 3000, 123

anonymity, leading in, 166–67

ant meta...

Table of contents

• Contents
• Foreword by Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Section One: The Kid Who Would Be Mayor
• Section Two: “Senator, I Call Them People”
• Section Three: The Ditch
• Section Four: A Knock on the Door
• Afterword by Earvin “Magic” Johnson
• Notes
• Index
• About the Author