| ‘Free’and determined to lead |
By Dr. Karanja A. Ajanaku |
Published
10/11/2007
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‘Free’and determined to lead
Dr. Willie W. Herenton stepped off the City Hall elevator and glided into the seventh-floor mayor’s office, flashing a smile to visitors. “Go on in,” he said, motioning toward the conference room. “I’ll be in in a second.”
Moments later, Dr. Herenton planted himself in a chair around the conference table and opened himself up for questions. It was less than a week after the Oct. 4 Municipal Election and an election night victory speech that his detractors seized upon as if it was log for a fire they did not want to flame out.
| A firm grip of support. (Photo by Wiley Henry)
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For the next several minutes he shared his reflections about the campaign and election night, gave a glimpse of some challenges he plans to tackle, and offered an assessment of his state of mind as a 67-year-old man and public servant.
Dr. Herenton said he never thought it was plausible for Herman Morris or Carol Chumney to win the race. The mathematics and demographics did not favor them, he said.
“I knew we were going to win early voting. We have the best organization for early voting of any political candidate. I also knew I would get the largest single block of votes from the African American community.”
His adversaries miscalculated in their measurement of the sentiment of the African American community, he said, noting that the polls were in error.
“Everybody doesn’t love me. I understand that. I’ve got my detractors in the white community as well as the African American community. But I knew I had a solid block of African American voters that appreciated my record, appreciated me, the person.”
It also was no secret to him that his base of support outside of the African American community had decreased significantly. That, he said, was a function of media influence and “some other subliminal problems that a lot of the white voters have with me. It is overt and covert. Willie Herenton the man and what I personify, they’ve just got some problems with that.”
Election night reflections
Dr. Herenton said the only prepared thing about his so-called victory speech was the scripture he drew from. He knew he wanted to speak out of the Book of Proverbs and he knew he wanted to speak on discernment.
He said that he looked in the audience, surveyed the stage and saw people who had started out with him; and he thanked them. He spotted in the audience some white supporters who had stuck with him through some high-profile booing of him at a U of M football gathering and a nationally televised ceremony in honor of local superstar Justin Timberlake.
He knew he wanted to acknowledge them publicly.
Criticism heaped on his supporters
Dr. Herenton said there are those “who want to degrade the intelligence of my base. I think that is racist. It is disrespectful.
“These people have a right to express their political views, their ideologies just as a person with a Ph.D. and who is a millionaire, who lives in Midtown, the Poplar corridor or the suburbs. They have a right to vote and to vote for the person who expresses their aspirations.”
Memphis’s racial divide
No one, said Dr. Herenton, is going to play a psychological game on him. He believes that some are trying to do so relative to racial division in Memphis.
He makes reference to 1619 and Africans being brought to this continent. There is no history that says the ethnic groups in America ever have been one group, he said.
“Don’t bring that (the racial divide) to me and say, ‘you caused that.’ The racial polarization in Memphis was here before Willie Herenton was even conceived.”
Should the mayor aggressively seek a solution?
“I am just a mayor. I’m just a human being. My title is mayor. I’m not God. I don’t have a magic wand,” said Dr. Herenton.
“I can’t deal with all of the deep-seated issues and psychological make-up of people that comprise this city. And I am not going to accept that responsibility.”
So, someone asked, who is the “they” he references when he says “they got the problem.” “‘They’ know who ‘they’ are,” he said.
“I don’t have a problem. I don’t discriminate against people because of their race, gender. I treat every man, every woman, as a human being.”
From a leadership perspective, Dr. Herenton said, “I am going to do what I have always done. I’ve been a mayor for all of the citizens of Memphis. My policies, my employment practices, everything has been fair to every group in Memphis. I will continue to provide leadership that embraces all the citizens of Memphis. I won’t deviate from that. That is what I am supposed to do.”
Is he going to make a Herculean effort to convince those who have a problem with him that he is alright?
“No. I am not going to do that. They need to work on that.”
On this point in his life
Dr. Herenton said that, at 67 years of age, he had a lot of struggles and battles in his career.
“I’m at a point in my life, and this may seem arrogant, where I am comfortable. I think I have been a great asset to this city. I have given this city a lot. I will continue to do so. I have made a lot of sacrifices in public service to move my city forward.”
Winning a popularity contest is not his goal, said Dr. Herenton. “I’d rather be respected. I want my work and who I am to command respect. This is how I feel.”
Dr. Herenton said he knows he is “free” and that leaders cannot have “all these shackles. Acceptance by everybody is a shackle. Trying to make everybody happy you will never be a leader.”
| “You are going to see in this term that I probably will be bolder. I am going to hit some hard issues...” (Photo by Rachel Benford)
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Goals
“I am focused on keeping this city financially sound. I want to keep this city poised for further economic growth and development,” Dr. Herenton said.
“I want to continue to revamp public housing with the assistance of MHA (Memphis Housing Authority). I want to continue to provide this community with affordable housing.”
Dr. Herenton said there now are resources to clean up the blight in more Memphis neighborhoods.
Riverfront development is unfolding, he said, and redevelopment of the Fairgrounds is important to him “whether it is a new stadium or not.”
Dr. Herenton said he still believes that during his next tenure the community is going to “reach a state of enlightenment and seriously look at consolidation of city and county governments, including schools and law enforcement. I am going to continue to focus on that.”
Schools, he said, also should be fundamentally restructured.
“You are going to see in this term that I probably will be bolder. I am going to hit some hard issues; some that I’ve already tried that were rejected. I am going to put them back on the agenda. Consolidation is one of them. School reform is another.”
The media
Dr. Herenton said he is going to continue to be “I guess you would say a thorn in the side” of media that function without accountability.
“I am still going to be a strong advocate for truth and fairness.”
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