Special to
L’Observateur

HARAHAN — Twenty-two year worker’s compensation Judge Sylvia Taylor Dunn recently celebrated retirement with friends, family and colleagues at the Worker’s Compensation Office in Harahan.

Dunn began her career at the Louisiana Department of Labor as a mediator attorney. Within six months, she was promoted to her judicial position. She became the only worker’s compensation judge for the parishes of Jefferson, Plaquemines and St. Bernard.

“Now that I have retired, I will take a little break and then I planned to volunteer as a CASA worker to help children at the local schools,” Dunn said.

She has seen many changes throughout her college years of becoming an attorney and a judge.

When she finished her freshman year at Dillard University in 1968 and was looking for a summer job, she applied at the new Winn Dixie store in LaPlace. She said she was not hired because she learned store management had not hired any minority cashiers.

However, the National Association for Advancement of Colored People planned on picketing the store because of the situation. Because of the actions that the NAACP took, she applied again. She had to take a math test and made a perfect score, and then she was hired on the spot.

It was not until law school at Loyola University that she realized the changes that many of the local black leaders like George Clark, Henry Wolfe, Marshall Carmbs, Ezekiel Jackson and Edward Hall had made to improve the lives of minorities.

“I found out how famous Edward Hall was when I was in law school,” Dunn said. “This was a man I have known all my life and I’m reading about him in my textbooks.”

Dunn said she will return to private practice to help individuals and the community.