Sherman Nathaniel Copelin, Jr. (born August 1943), is an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

and businessman from his native

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. The son of a funeral director, Copelin graduated from

St. Augustine High School The name St. Augustine High School could refer to: In the United States: * St. Augustine Academy (Lakewood, Ohio) * St. Augustine High School (Laredo, Texas) * St. Augustine High School (New Orleans), Louisiana * St. Augustine High School (San Di ...

and then became active in student politics at historically black

Dillard University Dillard University is a private, historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1930 and incorporating earlier institutions founded as early as 1869 after the American Civil War, it is affiliated with the United Church of C ...

, where he became student body president. He was hired to serve as an aide in the administration of

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Victor Schiro Victor Hugo Schiro (May 6, 1904 – August 29, 1992), was an American politician who served on the New Orleans City Council and as Mayor from 1961 to 1970. Early life and political career Schiro was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of An ...

in 1968. In the 1970s, he and

Don Hubbard Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

emerged as the leaders of the black political organization called

SOUL In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

(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 Moon Edwin Landrieu (born Maurice Edwin Landrieu; July 23, 1930 – September 5, 2022) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th mayor of New Orleans from 1970 to 1978. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented New O ...

made him a powerful figure in New Orleans and Louisiana politics. 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 then new

Louisiana Superdome The Caesars Superdome, commonly known as the Superdome (formerly known as Mercedes-Benz Superdome), is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the home stadium of the New Orleans Saints ...

. Scandal emerged when Copelin was accused of receiving payoffs from companies seeking to obtain contracts from City Hall. In 1986, Copelin was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives from New Orleans's

Lower Ninth Ward The Lower Ninth Ward is a neighborhood in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. As the name implies, it is part of the 9th Ward of New Orleans. The Lower Ninth Ward is often thought of as the entire area within New Orleans downriver of the Indus ...

. He was subsequently the

Speaker Pro Tempore A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase ''pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being". ...

. Success in business dealings led Copelin to move to Eastern New Orleans outside his district. The residency issue became an issue in his re-election campaign, and he was defeated in 1999 by the Reverend

Leonard Lucas Brigadier Leonard Cuthbert Lucas, (6 November 1894 – 3 September 1978) was an Australian architect, public servant and Army officer. During the First World War, he served at Gallipoli and on the Western Front. During the Second World War, he ...

. Copelin ran unsuccessfully in the New Orleans mayoral election of 1994. Copelin is currently the head of the New Orleans East Business Association, and since Hurricane Katrina has publicly opposed the construction of new apartment complexes in New Orleans East.

Sources

Bridges, Tyler. ''Bad Bet on the Bayou: The Rise of Gambling in Louisiana and the Fall of Governor Edwin Edwards.'' Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2001. DuBos, Clancy. "SOUL on the Ropes." ''Gambit Weekly''. March 20, 2001.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Copelin, Sherman 1943 births Living people Politicians from New Orleans African-American state legislators in Louisiana Activists for African-American civil rights Democratic Party members of the Louisiana House of Representatives American funeral directors Businesspeople from New Orleans 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people