Shermin Copelin: Conversations about African American Leadership in New Orleans

Sherman Nathaniel Copelin, Jr., has been a force in New Orleans politics and business for many years. The son of a funeral director, he graduated from St. Augustine High School and became active in student politics at historically black Dillard University, where he was elected student body president. In 1968, he was hired to serve as an aide in the administration of New Orleans Mayor Victor Schiro. In the 1970s, he and Don Hubbard emerged as the leaders of the black political organization SOUL (Southern Organization for Unified Leadership). SOUL's effectiveness in rallying the support of African American voters for candidates like Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards and New Orleans Mayor Moon Landrieu made him a powerful figure in New Orleans and Louisiana politics. Copelin was formerly affiliated with the Total Community Action Agency and its Central City Health Clinic, run by former State Representative Dorothy Mae Taylor, the first African-American woman to serve in the Louisiana House of Representatives. Through this agency and clinic, a generation of rising black politicians such as Copelin were groomed for future success. In the 1970s, Copelin headed Superdome Services, Inc., a politically-connected company contracted by the Landrieu administration to provide janitorial and security services for the Louisiana Superdome. In 1984, he was elected New Orleans tax assessor. In 1986, he was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives from New Orleans's Lower Ninth Ward (1986 - 1999), and subsequently selected Speaker Pro Tempore. Copelin has served on the board of several organizations including the Louisiana Business League, the National Council for Policy Review, National Black Caucus of State Legislators, National Democratic Committee, the National Business League, and the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus. Copelin is currently the head of the New Orleans East Business Association.