Herenton's tone is soft and nostalgic. He even thanked members of
the news media - a rare moment! He's talking about his administration's
achievements, and is focusing heavily on the strides he's made for
African-Americans. He mentioned the work of Robert Lipscomb, his
director of housing and community development, who has transformed the
city's housing projects. He also thanked the employees of City Hall and
the strides made at increasing diversity here. He noted that when he
took office, the administration was mostly white. Now, "There are so
many black people, they are running over each other," he said, to
laughter.
Herenton hopes that African-Americans in Memphis can see him as "someone who looked like them who made a contribution."
He held up a black and white photo of a young Herenton. He said he hopes this is a reminder to the kids in public schools that challenging life circumstances can be overcome with hard work and faith in God.
And "shake the haters off, you got to keep doing that," he quipped, in a nod to his unofficial slogan in the 2008 mayoral race.
"But make progress," he said. "Make progress. That's what my tenure has been about. It has defined the odds of making progress."
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