Willie Herenton made history as Memphis mayor in 1992. Now, he wants to do it again.

Former Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton sees a parallel between his life and the biblical story of Caleb, a spy who trusted God rather than fearing giants in the promised land.

There’s a verse in the Old Testament in which Caleb, then 85 years old, says, “As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in. Now therefore, give me this mountain…”

Herenton is now 83, just two years shy of Caleb in that passage.

In a brief piece written by Herenton and posted on his campaign website, the former mayor draws the comparison:

“For in the real sense, we are fighting giants that if not defeated ― our city will not reach the promised land,” Herenton wrote. “A united city with full armor can defeat the giants of crime, poverty, poor education, inadequate housing, decaying infrastructure and despair. My past experiences and leadership maturity have equipped me with the confidence that I can climb this mountain.”

As first elected Black mayor, Herenton made history

When Herenton first took office as mayor in 1992, he made history as the first Black mayor of Memphis. He went on to be elected to four consecutive terms before his resignation in 2009.

He’s the type of person who inspires strong emotions: Avid support from some and fierce criticism from others.

His campaign has been marked by a notable absence at public forums and debates, something Herenton said is strategic and out of a desire to meet instead with everyday people. His campaign headquarters is located in the heart of South Memphis, just a few blocks away from where he grew up. Fundraising hasn’t been a top focus: He only raised $17,000 in the second quarter of 2023.

His lengthy tenure as mayor included the development of Downtown Memphis, including AutoZone Park and the FedExForum, taking the city’s reserves from $3 million to $98.6 million, the annexation of areas of Hickory Hill and Cordova, and also tax increases, cuts to services and a failed push to consolidate city and county government.

Michael Gray, Herenton's campaign manager who also worked for him twice as a deputy director in the city administration, said he's known Herenton since 1991. It is Herenton's "experience, his toughness and, obviously, his knowledge base" that make him a good mayor, Gray said.

"He’s very astute to the police department. That’s part of the experience. His toughness is that he understands the people. He’s never gotten away from just the common people. A lot of times in leadership you kind of forget the least, the last and the lost. He’s never lost focus with that," Gray said. "Sometimes leadership doesn’t know about the downtrodden because they really don’t know what they’re going through.”

For his part, Herenton is quick to admit his failures but also to tout a legacy of having made Memphis better.

“I (took) the city to great heights. Downtown was flourishing. We had restructured public housing. I was selected the municipal leader of the year,” Herenton said in an interview with The Commercial Appeal, referring to his 2002 title given by American City & County magazine. “When you go through my career, you will find that first of all, I was not a perfect human being. I was not a perfect public servant. I think I was a loyal, dedicated public servant, but I was not perfect.”

The “four failures” Herenton counts from his prior administration are his push to consolidate city and county government, an effort to sell the city-owned utility Memphis Light, Gas and Water, the attempt to get a casino on Mud Island and an attempt to bring NFL football to the city.

From 2007-09, Herenton was the subject of a federal investigation into finances. A grand jury ended up concluding its work after his resignation without indicting Herenton. Today, Herenton cites The CA’s “terrible” investigative reporting as the cause of that probe.

He also faced a variety of personal scandals that garnered attention in the media, both as superintendent and mayor, but none seemed to impact his political strength

The pressure that it put on his mother to see him on the news every day contributed to his resignation, Herenton said. The other reason? “I got bored,” he said.

Herenton: City is deteriorating, needs strong leadership

Now, 14 years after his resignation, Herenton says he wants to fix what is going wrong in Memphis.

If reelected, he just wants one term, he stresses, during which he wants to address affordable housing, invest in the schools and strengthen access to mental health resources. He wants to offer jobs to youth along with seminars and counseling and, perhaps, to build a restorative justice campus for youth that functions like a boarding school.

Herenton said he also wants to build back Memphis’ image to outsiders. The city’s national image was severely damaged by the death of Tyre Nichols after his beating by Memphis police officers, Herenton said, and has also been damaged by reports calling it one of the — if not the — most dangerous cities in the United States.

“Those are a couple of reasons why I want to come back as a mayor,” Herenton said. “I could not sit on the sidelines and watch my city just deteriorate. Okay. And you may say this is self-serving. But when I looked at the array of candidates running for mayor … I honestly felt and I still feel the numerous candidates, not a single one is prepared for primetime. This is a primetime leadership challenge.”

Part of his platform includes support for police, including increased funding. While the Memphis City Council has passed police reform ordinances in the wake of Nichols’ death, those ordinances are something he’d “respectfully request” the body to reconsider since they can “handcuff the police,” Herenton said.

The ordinances block pretextual traffic stops such as stopping cars due to damaged bumpers or broken headlights.

Herenton overcame racism, other challenges to lead

Herenton grew up in South Memphis, raised by his mother and grandmother in the “heyday of racial segregation.” His aspiration was to become a professional boxer, and he started the sport at 11 years old.

Boxing brought him discipline and self-confidence, Herenton said, and he won his first championship at 14. He had started working at age 11, delivering groceries from the neighborhood store. He also remembers going to Arkansas to chop cotton with other Black children. They’d work 12 hours per day and be paid $3 for the 12-hour shift, he recalled.

He spent Sundays at church and often heard his grandmother exhort him to get a good education.

At 18, Herenton faced a turning point in his life. He had planned to move to Chicago to become a professional boxer but was looking for employment for the summer of 1958. He walked up to a yard looking for a job, only to see the faces of the men there as the foreman said there was no work available that day.

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“So I looked at the faces of those men. You know, they were dejected. They had been subjected to harsh treatment. And this was kind of like a divine revelation when I walked back home,” Herenton said.

The “divine revelation” was that he needed to go back to school, so he did, majoring in elementary education since teaching was one of the few professional opportunities available to Black people at the time. After graduation, he started teaching fifth grade, making $415 per month.

Later, he decided he wanted to become a principal. The first school he oversaw was in Bethel Grove. He was the first Black principal of the school, and all but one of his teachers were white. His secretary was white. Even the janitor was white. Herenton remembers that experiment at integration with a Black leader as a success.

Eventually, he decided he wanted to become superintendent, meaning he needed a Ph.D. Memphis State had a Ph.D. program, but didn’t admit Black students, Herenton said, so he ended up obtaining his degree at Southern Illinois University.

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When he returned, he wasn’t welcomed, Herenton recalled. Before leaving for Illinois, he had marched with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. People labeled Herenton a “black militant” and a “troublemaker.” He accepted a fellowship that took him to Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, but ultimately returned home to Memphis.

Herenton only became deputy superintendent of the schools in Memphis after protests in his support. Then, when the superintendent search took place and the district chose a young white man from a small town in Michigan to lead, Black Memphians protested again until the candidate rejected the job offer and Herenton was chosen superintendent, a position he held for 12 years.

Herenton said he never wanted to become mayor but was “drafted” in the original Memphis People’s Convention of 1991. Herenton defeated incumbent Richard Hackett by fewer than 150 votes.

After his resignation during his fifth term as mayor, Herenton went on to challenge Rep. Steve Cohen in a failed bid for the Democratic nomination to represent Tennessee’s 9^th congressional district.

And in 2019, he challenged current Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland, receiving 29% of the vote to Strickland’s 62%.

Now, Herenton says he’s ready to return to the office that garnered him the name “King Willie.”

“I’m passionate about Memphis, and we have a critical crossroads and it requires proven leadership,” Herenton said. “And that’s been our thing: Herenton, a proven leader.”

Katherine Burgess covers government and religion. She can be reached at katherine.burgess@commercialappeal.com or followed on Twitter @kathsburgess.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Willie Herenton in Memphis elections: Get to know the mayoral candidate