A visionary Catholic mayor who reshaped New Orleans

Moon Landrieu was a visionary Catholic mayor who reshaped New Orleans

"When Moon Landrieu became mayor in 1970, New Orleans was a slumbering backwater," writes Jason Berry. "The old-pedigree establishment synonymous with elite Carnival balls enjoyed a segregated status quo. The population of about 593,000 had a high poverty level, disproportionately so among Blacks, a voting minority hungry for economic expectations of the ebbing civil rights era."

Landrieu's achievement in eight years as mayor, balancing racial progress and economic growth, set the stage for a line of African American mayors, points out Berry, adding that Landrieu's commitment to racial equity sparked scorn among some whites, yet when his heart stopped on Labor Day, Sept. 5, at age 92, praise poured out from many corners.

Read more of this appreciation here.