Helen Ackerman Mervis was born in Pittsburgh, PA in 1917 to immigrant Jewish parents. After her marriage to Leo Mervis, she moved to New Orleans in 1939 and in time became involved in civic organizations, including the Council of Jewish Women and Save Our Schools. The papers reflect Mervis' involvement with other civic organizations, primarily during the 1960s and 1970s; a number of these organizations devoted themselves to promoting race relations: the Community Relations Council (a bi-racial, non-sectarian group formed in 1962 to promote harmony between the race, which Mervis headed from 1962-1967), the National Urban League and its New Orleans affiliate, and the Southern Regional Council (Mervis served on the executive council in the mid-1970s). The records also reflect her involvement with the New Orleans Chapter of the Brandeis University National Women's Committee and the American Jewish Congress and her participation in several local political campaigns. Also included are records that deal with Mervis' employment by the New Orleans Consortium (a cooperative program between Loyola and Xavier Universities and Dominican College to exchange students, library facilities, and cultural events); by Wake Up, Louisiana (a federal grant-funded program designed "to mobilize citizen interest" in Louisiana's social, economic, governmental, and educational problems and potential; and by Mayor Ernest N. Morial's Office of Community Development (for which Mervis served as Public Information Officer).