Robert H. “Bob” Tucker Jr. cut a wide swath of influence in New Orleans during his more than 50 years as a civil rights activist, public servant, businessman, mentor to up-and-coming political leaders and trusted advisor to major elected officials. His death on March 1 at age 82 leaves a huge void in our city’s civic and political landscapes.
A native of New Orleans, Tucker was one of Louisiana’s last surviving 1960s-era civil rights activists — arguably the greatest generation of Black leadership our state has seen. Like others in that generation, Tucker’s arc of public service began with a protest.
As a student at Clark College (now Clark Atlanta University) in the spring of 1960, he and dozens of other students staged Atlanta’s first lunch counter sit-in. He was arrested on a handful of Jim Crow-era charges, which later were dismissed, but the experience shaped the rest of his life. He became a change agent who used his hallmark blend of statesmanship and political leverage to move his community forward.
Publicly, Tucker served on many civic, charitable and governmental boards. He chaired the Dock Board, a state entity, as an appointee of then-Gov. Buddy Roemer, and the Regional Transit Authority under Mayor Marc Morial. As RTA chair, he proudly led the push to revive the Canal Street streetcar line. He also served on the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District, commonly known as the Superdome Commission, and on the boards of Children’s Hospital, the Sugar Bowl Association and numerous other civic and charitable organizations.
But Tucker’s skills shone brightest outside the spotlight. He served as a behind-the-scenes advisor to Mayors Dutch Morial, Marc Morial, Mitch Landrieu and LaToya Cantrell, U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu, and dozens of others. He chaired all of Marc Morial’s political campaigns and became the Morial family’s most trusted friend and confidant.
“He had a unique understanding of the fabric of the city, its neighborhoods, its tensions, its fears, its hopes,” recalled Marc Morial, who now leads the National Urban League. “He understood political alignments. He had a unique intuition of the city and the region.”
Tucker joined the U.S. Army after graduating from college, then returned to his hometown in 1967. After helping Moon Landrieu win the 1969 mayor’s race, he became one of the new mayor’s three executive assistants — and the senior-most Black official in city government at that time.
After serving in Landrieu’s administration, Tucker honed his skills as a businessman and consultant. He founded and built a successful firm that specialized in providing support services to various U.S. Department of Defense agencies. He also began lending his keen political skills to generations of Black and White elected officials, often serving as both a mentor and a cool-headed healer during difficult times.
“Every New Orleans mayor, Black or White, had to cut across racial lines to address the city’s most pressing problems,” said Mitch Landrieu, who now heads up President Joe Biden’s infrastructure program. “Bob could do that. He could walk into any room in the city and be heard.”
“He was like bone marrow,” Landrieu added. “He wasn’t always out front, but he always showed up to help make things better. And if he felt he was needed out front, he wasn’t afraid to do that as well. He could be a warrior when he needed to be.”
A consummate networker, a sought-after mentor, an impactful statesman, a savvy insider, a trusted advisor and occasional warrior — Bob Tucker was all these things during some of New Orleans’ most challenging times over the past half-century. Hopefully, the generations he mentored will carry on his work.
Leave a Reply