: W. Wilson Goode Sr.
: Black Voters Mattered: A Philadelphia Story
: BookBaby
: 9781543930061
: 1
: CHF 10.50
:
: Geschichte
: English
: 122
: kein Kopierschutz
: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
: ePUB
The idea for this book grew out of my deep appreciation for recorded history. I've learned that unless the facts are written, people will soon forget them. So it is important to document the history of the personalities and events that led to my election in1983 as the first African American mayor of Philadelphia, to properly record and connect events so that future generations will understand and appreciate our struggle and our achievements. This book attempts to connect some of the events and personalities of the U.S social and civil rights movements with the movement in the City of Philadelphia between 1968 and 1983 that resulted in a dramatic increase in Black political empowerment. While many of the individuals involved in these events were African Americans, there were also some non-African Americans who played crucial roles in bringing about the transformation. This book will attempt to chronicle all of their roles and put them in chronological order, so that those who read this in the future will know how these events took place.

CHAPTER 2

From Protest to Politics:
The Black Political Forum

As the 1960’s came to a close and the nation was experiencing major changes on the civil rights landscape, the local political realm in Philadelphia was going through substantial changes of its own. It became apparent to many that the successful efforts by Sullivan and Moore and the activism of David P. Richardson had fueled the inception of an independent Black political movement. The re-election of Mayor James H. J. Tate offered the perfect opportunity to kick off such a movement. Ironically, Tate was the ultimate party official. Because he had presided over the City throughout many of the movements mentioned previously, he employed Nixon’s language and strategy of law and order in his campaign for re-election in 1967. Tate had assumed office after Mayor Richardson Dilworth resigned to run for governor, and he played into the Democratic machine politics that controlled the city at the time. In spite of Tate’s party loyalty, the Democratic Party chairman and several other ward leaders threw their support behind former City Controller Alexander Hemphill during the primary. Receiving no support from the Democratic establishment was yet another candidate, Lenerte Roberts, a Black West Philadelphia realtor and the first Black candidate to seek a major party nomination for mayor in Philadelphia since 1923.23

Because Hemphill had the support of Democratic Party Chairman Joseph Smith, many expected him to win the mayoral nomination. In spite of this, Tate was backed by city employees and Philadelphia’s labor unions—groups whose support garnered him 77,711 more votes than Hemphill received.24 After Tate won the primary, he faced off against Leonard Smalls of the Consumer Party;25; Cecil B. Moore, who was running under the auspices of the newly created Political Freedom Rights Party26; and District Attorney Arlen Specter, the Republican candidate. Moore’s third-party campaign was devised to illustrate the appeal of Black independent politics and to take votes away from Tate.27 As such, his campaign consisted primarily of street corner rallies in Black neighborhoods and appeals to young Black males.28 Smalls, the pastor of 59th Street Baptist Church, had a strong reputation in the Black community due to his work calming riots at the Eastern State Penitentiary and picketing banks downtown that refused to lend to Black people. He used his candidacy to shed light on the issues of unemployment and poverty in Philadelphia’s Bla