| Chapter : | Introduction |
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The most significant political campaign of that decade was the 1959 election, when Hooks, Sugarmon, Roy Love, and Henry C. Bunton ran for local office on the Volunteer Ticket. That race was important because the Black community was solidly united behind a single slate of candidates, and, for the first time, there was the possibility that an African American could win elective office through single shot voting. Although none of the candidates was elected, that race increased voter registration and voter turn-out, and it led to the appointment and election of Blacks to positions in local, state, and federal government. As a result, the number of Black voters in Shelby County increased from approximately 20,000 in 1951 to 50,000 in 1959, and, by fall 1961, African Americans had been appointed to forty-three political jobs in Memphis.
The political victories of the 1960s culminated, in 1974, with the election to the U. S. Congress of Harold Ford, who built up a powerful, family centered political base during the twenty-two years that he served in the legislature. Ford’s siblings—Emmitt, James, John, and, later, Ophelia—were elected city councilmen, state representatives, state senator, and general sessions clerk; while Harold Ford, Jr., succeeded his father, in 1996, in the Congress, where he served for five terms. Another major political figure to emerge during the last quarter of the century was W. W. Herenton, who was appointed the first Black superintendent of Memphis City Schools in 1979 and was elected the first Black mayor of the city in 1991, a position that he has held for four terms. One of Herenton’s early supporters was A C Wharton, who, in 2002, was elected the first African American mayor of Shelby County, with 62% of the vote and substantial support across party and racial lines. Unfortunately, the emergence of strong individuals has created some disunity and divisiveness in the Black community, as political organizations have competed for influence and financial support.
One of the primary sources of support for political and civil rights activities has been the churches and Black businesses; ironically, however, the desegregation movement of the 1960s has led to the demise of many small businesses, such as florists, nightclubs, restaurants, and barbershops.