Widely known among kids on the street and mayors alike, Dyan “Mama D” French Cole was a lifelong force for racial and economic justice in the city of New Orleans. Born in 1945, she served as the first woman president of the New Orleans branch of the NAACP when she was just 29 years old. “Mama D” was a consummate bridge builder, creating conduits between those with the least economic and political power and those with the most. Describing the life’s work of “Mama D,” Cedric Richmond told the United States Congress, “Her dedication to community embodies the spirit of New Orleans.“
With the no-nonsense practicality of a mother and grassroots organizer and the vision and forethought of a great leader, “Mama D” took civic engagement to the next level. Passionate about giving voice to the city’s most underrepresented residents, she became well-known in city council meetings, court hearings, at city hall, and on public access television for her fierce advocacy. Whether working on housing justice, recreation for young people, removal of symbols of racism throughout the city, or criminal justice reform, “Mama D” was so in tune with New Orleans residents that mayors regularly relied on her “to ascertain the thoughts and pulse” of the city.
Nearly every day, “Mama D” headed to the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court to provide support to young people who were being arraigned. One judge remembered her handling every child and their matters as if they were her own. When meeting with President Barack Obama she told him she “had but one” concern: giving “our black men some relief from the double standards in the criminal-justice system.”
In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, “Mama D” created “Soul Patrols,” groups who would walk through her native 7th Ward and other neighborhoods to provide those in need with soulful compassion and shopping carts filled with food, water, and clothes. She welcomed so many homeless people into her home that some began referring to it as Recovery Camp Dorgenois. She then took this grassroots knowledge to the United States Congress where she testified to New Orleans’ dire need for emergency and recovery funds. A proud Joseph S. Clark High School “Bulldog,” she died one day after the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee was taken down.
