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Dr. Willie W. Herenton was raised by his grandmother and mother in a public housing development 15 blocks south of Beale Street and The Peabody hotel. A week before leaving office, Herenton shows off a photo of himself in front of the housing development when he was superintendent of Memphis City Schools. (Photos by Wiley Henry) |
On the seventh floor of City Hall, where Dr. Willie W. Herenton spent nearly 18 years as Memphis’ first elected African-American mayor, a changing of the guard is here.
Today (July 30), Herenton is stepping down as mayor though he does not intend to retire from public office. He intends to seek the Congressional seat held by Rep. Steve Cohen.
In 1991, the former Memphis City Schools Superintendent strolled into politics as a consensus candidate after Democrats at the “People’s Convention” chose him as their mayoral candidate.
Herenton went on to defeat two-term incumbent Dick Hackett by 142 votes. “When I came here, there was $3 million in the reserves under a white administration. Under a black administration, it’s $89 million,” the mayor recently noted.
African-American voters – whom Herenton considers his base – helped to elect him four more times, which makes him the longest-serving mayor in the city’s history. The achievement is humbling, Herenton said, but not without challenges.
In 1995, Herenton coasted to victory easily by defeating three opponents. In 1999, he faced 13 opponents and won with 45 percent of the vote. In 2003, he won handily with 70 percent of the vote. And in 2007, 42 percent of the voters gave Herenton a fifth term.
“The longer you stay, the more decisions you make, the more people either like you or dislike you. It comes with the territory. When you’re in the job as long as I had been, your skin becomes real thick,” said Herenton, 69.
In more recent years, Herenton has emerged as a lightning rod of controversy. His management style, frank statements about race and occasional verbal jabbing with the media and critics have provided plenty of drama.
Those contentious battles only strengthened the resolve of an African American who says he knows who he is, where he comes from and where he’s going.
“My story is real simple,” said Herenton, dressed in casual attire for his exit interview (on July 24) with the Tri-State Defender. “I came up in segregated Memphis and attended segregated public schools. I’m a guy born out of wedlock, whose father wasn’t in the home.”
Herenton said he knows what it’s like to grow up in the system, ride the back of the bus and endure separate water fountains. “I’m a product of the civil rights movement,” he said.
In 1940, the year Herenton was born, African Americans struggled mightily to find opportunities out of poverty. Raised by his mother and grandmother, Herenton sought opportunities inside the boxing ring. Joe Louis and Sugar Ray Robinson were his idols.
After winning the Golden Gloves, the tall, wiry fighter from Booker T. Washington High School would make his mark in society by teaching and molding young minds.
After Herenton graduated from LeMoyne College in 1963, he became a public school teacher. Four years later he earned an MA from Memphis State University and became the youngest elementary school principal in Memphis at 27.
In 1971, he was conferred a doctorate degree from Southern Illinois University and became the deputy superintendent of Memphis City Schools in 1974. Five years later, he was hired as the superintendent, a position he held for 12 years.
“I’m real competitive. I have a competitive nature about me. ... And I’m stubborn,” said Herenton. “I’m kind of tenacious if I believe in something. And, believe it or not, I operate on principles and integrity.”
‘It’s just part of the Southern culture’During Herenton’s campaign for a fifth term, he used the slogan “Shake the Haters Off!” It caused a buzz in the community and some of the mayor’s critics called him a “ghetto mayor.”
“The African-American community knew what I meant,” he said.
The remarks, Herenton said, didn’t deter him from focusing on his vision and mission. “You just shake them off. You keep on making progress.”
“Keeping it Real” is the latest slogan. He is using it in his bid to unseat two-term, 9th Congressional district Rep. Cohen.
“If you noticed the last election, they said what does he mean by shake the haters off. Well … I’m going to explain to them what is ‘real.’ So I got a lot of little messages that will come out of this.”
Herenton said he is preparing to launch a message-driven campaign for the 2010 race. An ongoing FBI investigation will not deter him from campaigning and moving forward, he said.
According to local media, the FBI is investigating whether Herenton crossed the line on some financial dealings, including a redevelopment project involving the Greyhound bus station site.
“I understand what that’s all about,” said Herenton. “It’s not about justice …about me breaking any laws. It’s about the powers-that-be working diligently to tarnish your image, to taint your legacy and destroy your character.”
He said there’s nothing to investigate or prosecute and media bias is responsible for much of the negative press. “I’ve observed other political figures – and I’m a political figure – and there has been no political figure in modern history – black or white – that has been covered or treated the way the media and establishment have covered and treated me.
“There are African Americans who hate on me because of envy and jealousy,” he added. “And there are whites who hate on you because they resent everything you stand for – that you are in a leadership role, that you have power and that you use that power decisively with confidence.”
Herenton has had plenty of critics. Conservative radio talk show host Mike Fleming started referring to the mayor as “King Willie” and the label spread like wildfire. The reference, Herenton said, is just part of the Southern Culture.
“It’s racist and ignorant,” he said. “What they really were rejecting was African-American leadership that has sense and integrity. For them to concentrate so much coverage and negativism on my tenure means I’m doing something right.”
What is wrong, Herenton said, is when the justice system and the media “target you, hate you, and try to discredit you. They want to poison the minds of the citizenry that you are not honorable, that you’re a crook.”
His critics, he said, would do whatever is necessary to bring him down. He cited charges by Gwendolyn D. Smith, a former strip club waitress that she was asked to set up Herenton and embarrass him.
“Justice should be fair,” Herenton said. “People ought to rule on the basis of law and evidence and not on race and politics. I asked them to continue the matter and they treated my request with disdain.”
Herenton compared his ordeal to that of Republican State Sen. Paul Stanley’s of Germantown, who was allegedly blackmailed by a man who claimed to have explicit photos of the senator and his legislative intern.
“Look at Mr. Stanley’s case and see how quickly they move,” Herenton said. “They gave the Gwen Smith case to a special prosecutor and swept it under the rug.”
He said a dual justice system is part of Memphis’ problem.
“Other than that, I have no complaints. That’s just reality. I’m just keeping it real.”
