New Orleans civil rights icon Jerome "Big Duck" Smith has died.
Smith, whose involvement in the civil rights movement began whenhe was teenager, died on Friday. He was 87.
Smith, who joined the Congress of Racial Equality at the age of 19, participated in sit-ins and boycotts challenging racial segregation and Jim Crow laws. He was a Freedom Rider, traveling the South by bus to protest segregation in public transit. In 1963, Smith was among the civil rights figures who met with Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy to detail the realities of Black Americans in the segregated South.
Smith later founded Tambourine and Fan, a youth organization based in the Tremé that taught children about Black history and New Orleans culture.
Local officials paid tribute to Smith after learning of his death.
“Every day of his life, Jerome 'Big Duck' Smith advocated and fought for the people of New Orleans, but most importantly, for the children of our city," Mayor Helena Moreno said in a statement. "He was so many things to so many people a teacher, a mentor, a fighter, a healer, a protector and a friend. He lifted people up while never being afraid to stand up for what he believed was right. My deepest condolences go to his family, loved ones and all those whose lives he touched. Job well done, sir.”
"Today, New Orleans lost a giant, and I lost a friend," Rep. Troy Carter said. "Jerome 'Big Duck' Smith was a freedom fighter, a mentor and a servant of this community who loved his people deeply. Duck didn’t have much patience for excuses. If our children needed something, he was going to fight until somebody listened. That was Big Duck."
Carter added that Smith's work was "never about Jerome" but "always about someone else."
"New Orleans is better because Big Duck walked these streets," Carter said.
