Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Sept. 16, 1993, edition 1 / Page 14
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National Memphis Mayor Fears City Will Become a Poor Black Enclave MEMPHIS (AP) ? It would be hard to find another American city where skin color plays a bigger political role^ or one where its first elected black mayor is putting vot ers' racial beliefs to a bigger test. Less than two years after blacks first passed whites in voter registra tions in Memphis. Mayor W.W. Herenton is on a course that could shift the city back to majority white. Friend and foe alike are con cerned. Herenton wants to merge his predominantly black city with the well-to-do, mostly white suburbs that make up the rest of Shelby County. Without such a move, he says, the strains of a limited tax base could one day turn Memphis into a poor, black enclave surrounded by rich, white suburbs. "I see some ugly realities,'' he said at a news conference late last month. "I see what happened to Newark. I see what happened to Detroit. I see what happened to a number of urban cities that allowed the suburban areas to leave them." . Herenton wants to consolidate the city and county governments, which now have separate mayors, law-making boards, bureaucracies, schools and tax structures. Suburban residents have long op>posed consolidation. City voters W.W. Herenton have supported it in the past. But the shift in the city's racial makeup has added a new wrinkle. "It would dilute our power," said the Rev. Samuel "Billy" Kyles, one black leader. "I know it's the right thing to do. but the problem in Memphis is our politics are so racial. If blacks are not in the majority. ? you simply cannot win an election." Some arc more blunt about Herenton's plan. r m stunned." said John Ford, a black state senator whose family runs one of the city's most active politi cal organizations and whose brother is U.S. Rep. Harold Ford. D- - Tenn. "Who in the world is it he's talked to that's tola him to think" this ? way? You'd have to be a plumb fool to think thisup on your own." But Herenton, 53. the city's first black superintendent of schools before becoming mayor, says blacks _ gain little by controlling a city that is broke. "I n fortunately . we have a number ot elected officials whose private interest before the public interest.'' he said. "What you have is. people who look at their -?oNVH-pt^Hical !iHut<?s first. Oveiall. Shelby County, which includes Memphis, is 55 percent white The city, with M 0.000 resi dent^. i? 55 peiceni black About 17 percent of the 216.CKW suburbanites are hlack. Memphis, schools are HO per cent black, the suburban schools SO percent white Blacks outnumbered whites in reiMsteied voters for the first time in W^l.the year Herenton was elected bv a margin of !-i2' votes out-of the 24~srt cast. -He eot w percent of the. black vote, while his white opponent, for mer mayor Richard Hackctt. eot 97 percent ot the w hite vote. The same election raised the number of blacks on the l.Vmember Cit\ C. Oum il from three to six and on the nine-member city school "board fiom three to five. Herenton said the citv. vs. ith its taxing ability nist about exhausted, faces a S50 nullum budget deficit by l?(Hi. even With little growth in ser vices or t he social programs he championed as a candidate. consolidation. Under state law, the He said Memphis must grow, city has the power to annex unincor through vigorous annexation if not- porated parts of the county. Do You Own Your House... or Does Your House Own You? At $98 Million, Oprah is the Richest of Them All NEW YORK (AP) ? In the film "Jurassic Park." a get-rich scheme involving live dinosaurs spelled dis aster. Real-life may be a bit kinder. Two of the nation's richest entertainers this year owe their for tunes to the film's rampaging pre historic beasts ? Steven Spielberg, producer of the successful movie, and Michael Crichton, who wrote the novel it was based upon. But this year's list of top 40 money makers from Forbes maga zine, which considers two years worth of incomc to smooth out big earnings swings, shows that most wealthy entertainers make money from more modem phenomena. Consider the top earner. Oprah Winfrey became the nation's richest entertainer by owning the show she hosts and produces, as well the Chicago studio where it's filmed. The Oprah Winfrey show generates over SI 70 million in revenue. Her total take in 1992 and 1993: $98 million. Spielberg was right behimJ her. He clinched the No. 2 spot by pulling in S72 million in the last two years, thanks in large part to "Jurus sic Park" box office sales that could reach $600 million in 1993. With a videocassette release upcoming. Forbes says. Spielberg could top the list next year. Slipping to No. 3 from last year's top spot was Bill Cosby, dragged down by his TV Hop "You Bet Your Life", based on the Grou cho Marx classic Mac.iulcv Culkin proved that success knov\s no age. I he 13 -year suit nt the tl'Mr.e Alone movies made an adult s 1 7 c d S2* million these past two \ears. easily becom ing the list's vnunrest member. Dropping ott tlu- list were Rolling Stones Johnny Carson. Atsenio Hall and 1 rank Sinatra. F orbes sa\s the Stones could be back, with a possible S 1 Of > million deal for ?n upcoming tour. Show your house who's boss! Install CertainTeed vinyl siding... and virtually forget exterior maintenance forever! . EVELYN DEANE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT * FINANCE MANAGER ? Clear-thru color Never needs painting ? Won't rot, chip, peel or show . scratches B wkte choice of beauttfut colors and siding styles ? Outstanding warranty coverage Forsyth Mechanical & Construction Co. 2100 Sunnyside Avenue Winston - Salem, NC 27107 (919) 748-0994 Terms & Financing can be arranged by F.M.C.C. Call Mrs. Evelvn Deane Todav for a free consultation. JiM ConracI For INortIieast WarcI AUJerman WS TIME FOR A CHANGE "LET THE RECORD SPEAK" CRIME HAS INCREASED SIGNIFICANT! V IN THE N.E. WARD THE N.E. WARD HAS THE ONLY PUBLIC HOUSING COMMUNITY WITHOUT POLICE FOOT PATROL' ? THERE ARE FAR TOO MANY ABANDONED AND SUB STANDARD HOUSING UNITS IN THE N.E. WARD THERE IS A CRT MIONAL FACILITIES IN THE N.E. WARD. BUT JIM CONRAD HAS A POSITIVE RECORD: ? BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE W-S URBAN LEAGUE ? W-S CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MINORITY TASK FORCE ? FORSYTH COUNTY JUVENILE IUSTICF C OUNCIL WHEN ELECTED, JIM CONRAD PLEDGES TO: ? OPEN A NORTHEAST WARD CITIZENS Of F lCt ? ESTABLISH NE WARD CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON CRIME, HOUSING AND RECREATION ? BE ACCESSIBLE ? WORK WITH WS POLICE DEPARTMENT AND CITIZENS OF THE WARD TO ESTABLISH A BETTER WORKING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LAW ENFORCEMENT AND RESIDENTS OF THE WARD VOTE FOR ACCOUNTABILITY AND CHANCE FOR A RIDE TO THl POLFS CALL 725-5074 OR 748-9825 PUNCH #24 ? VOTE ? JIM CONRAD ? SEPTEMBER 21 OMMITTEE TO ELECT JIM CONRAD ALDERMAN. NANCY ALLEN, TREASURER.
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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Sept. 16, 1993, edition 1
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