The African American People’s Convention was the brainchild of several African-American leaders, including the late Deadrick “Teddy” Withers, the late Vernon Ash, and Shelby County Election Commissioner Shep Wilbun, a member of the City Council in 1991.
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| On Sunday (Aug. 16), Shelby County Mayor AC Wharton Jr., the first to announce his candidacy for mayor of Memphis, asked the parishioners at New Nonconnah Baptist Church to vote for him. If the voters elect him, Wharton said he intends to create jobs by supporting small businesses and providing a better public education for children. (Photo by Earl Stanback) |
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| Mayor Pro Tem Myron Lowery and his wife, Mary, picked up a petition Monday evening at the Shelby County Election Commission to run for mayor in the special election to replace Mayor Willie Herenton, whose term expires December 2011. (Photo by Wiley Henry) |
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On Tuesday Aug. 18, a large contingent of supporters joined Dr. Kenneth T. Whalum Jr. and his wife, Sheila, on the steps of the Shelby County Records Building to officially kick off his campaign for mayor of Memphis. After completing the necessary paperwork, Whalum told the crowd, “It is a new day, a new Memphis and soon, a new Mayor in our city.” The field of candidates is growing, but Dr. Whalum said he intends to standout, stand tall and rise for Memphis. On Aug. 24 at 5 p.m., the public is invited to meet the candidate at The Shack (formerly Joe’s Crab Shack), 3518 Riverdale Road, for a Dutch treat dinner. For more information visit www.whalum.com or send him a Tweet at twitter.com/kwhalum. (Photo by Rodney K. Mills)
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A summit meeting was held at Bloomfield Baptist Church in South Memphis where then-U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Sr. was supporting Higgs as the consensus candidate for mayor.
“Higgs felt he was entitled to being the consensus candidate because he ran a couple of close mayoral races,” said Tyrone Moore, a longtime political activist.
Herenton, who had battled a sexual harassment suit as superintendent of Memphis City Schools, was drawn into participating in the convention, he told the Tri-State Defender.
“I didn’t want to be the man,” said Herenton, whose supporters rallied with red and white “Herenton for Mayor” signs at the church and the Mid-South Coliseum, where the convention was held.
But it was the late Dr. Talib-Karim Muhammad, Moore pointed out, who filed a lawsuit in November 1988 that changed the paradigm for Herenton to become the city’s first African-American mayor.
Muhammad’s suit also triggered a similar suit in 1990 by several African Americans, including clergymen L. LaSimba Gray, Samuel “Billy” Kyles and Bill Adkins.
In 1991, the U.S. Justice Department filed a suit as well. The African American People’s Convention was the brainchild of several African-American leaders, including the late Deadrick “Teddy” Withers, the late Vernon Ash, and Shelby County Election Commissioner Shep Wilbun, a member of the City Council in 1991.
A summit meeting was held at Bloomfield Baptist Church in South Memphis where then-U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Sr. was supporting Higgs as the consensus candidate for mayor.
“Higgs felt he was entitled to being the consensus candidate because he ran a couple of close mayoral races,” said Tyrone Moore, a longtime political activist.
Herenton, who had battled a sexual harassment suit as superintendent of Memphis City Schools, was drawn into participating in the convention, he told the Tri-State Defender.
“I didn’t want to be the man,” said Herenton, whose supporters rallied with red and white “Herenton for Mayor” signs at the church and the Mid-South Coliseum, where the convention was held.
But it was the late Dr. Talib-Karim Muhammad, Moore pointed out, who filed a lawsuit in November 1988 that changed the paradigm for Herenton to become the city’s first African-American mayor.
Muhammad’s suit also triggered a similar suit in 1990 by several African Americans, including clergymen L. LaSimba Gray, Samuel “Billy” Kyles and Bill Adkins.
In 1991, the U.S. Justice Department filed a suit as well.
