©2018 W. Wilson Goode, Sr., D. Min. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

ISBN: 978-1-54393-005-4 (print)

ISBN: 978-1-54393-006-1 (ebook)

FOREWORD

In this book, W. Wilson Goode, Sr. Philadelphia’s first African American mayor, chronicles the individuals and events that played significant roles in the political empowerment of Black Philadelphia. A careful reading will validate the words of Machiavelli:

…It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things. For the former has enemies in all those who profit by the old order, and only lukewarm defenders in all those who profit by the new…

For those who need additional validation, read Jonathan Binzen’s book Richardson Dilworth: Last of the Bare Knuckled Aristocrats and Ed Rendell’s A Nation of Wusses.

Although their path was fraught with difficulties, the leaders of Philadelphia’s Black political empowerment movement organized, trained and placed allies in the city’s precincts, wards and neighborhoods, and cooperated with and formed alliances with other groups, institutions and leaders. They believed that change was possible if those who shared their beliefs would work together and sustain the effort. They knew that success would not come overnight, nor would that success be total. Their persistence, hard work, focus and sacrifice led to incremental and sometimes unexpected gains.

For example:

• The first Black mayoral candidate, Charles Bowser, and his Philadelphia Party lost to Frank Rizzo but succeeded in defeating Thomas Foglitetta, the Republican candidate, establishing the fact that a Black mayoral candidate could complete and possibly win.
• W. Wilson Goode, Sr. successfully registered 125,000 Philadelphia residents to vote – 100% of the eligible Black voters at the time. He also raised over one million dollars for his campaign from some of Philadelphia’s most prominent business leaders.
• Goode had support from liberal and activist White voters of all ages.
• The importance of diversity in political campaigns was demonstrated when the Black Political Forum endorsed Thacher Longstreth, the White Republican candidate for mayor.

Several decades ago, a monograph “Changes and Choices” documented the changing demographics of the world population. In the last third of the 20th Century, ten percent of the population would move voluntarily (jobs, drought, and natural disasters) or forced (refugees, displaced people, war).

The Pew Research Center notes that the number of Black immigrants to the United States has more than quadrupled since 1980. As many as 3.8 million Black immigrants lived in the U.S. in 2013. Their share of the Black population is projected to rise from nine percent today to 16 % by 2060. The primary source of Black population growth in the U.S. from 2000- 2013 was a 137 percent increase in African immigrants.

Fifty percent of Black immigrants are from Caribbean nations like Jamaica and Haiti. Nine percent are from Central and South American countries. More than 80 percent live in New York and New Jersey. Many of them maintain a strong identification with their home countries. As we move forward into the future, it is clear that current models of Black political empowerment must include opportunities for these immigrant populations and an openness to all the different faces of diversity.

Philadelphia, like other cities, offers possibilities for dealing with those changes. Read Dr. Bernard Anderson in Race and Community Development 2015 and Roadmap for Growth by the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce.

As we move into the next decades, it is clear that models of empowerment must include coalitions of diversity in all of its aspects. A large majority of Philadelphia residents did not vote in the 2015 mayoral election. How can voter participation be increased? How can conflicting interests in the coalition be managed? How can voters and citizens of all backgrounds be convinced that their concerns are being heard and treated with respect? More importantly, how can voters and citizens be inspired and convinced that we are all in this together, and that together we can ameliorate our problems and move forward toward a city and a nation where success is not restricted to a chosen few?

The late Dr. Manning Marable said:

Racial minorities themselves must engage in a critical, honest dialogue about these areas of mutual concern….Like African Americans and Latinos, Asian Americans have experienced a history of discrimination and oppression….Conversely, an appraisal of racial and other realities today illustrates profound differences between minority groups….We are rapidly moving beyond the older “Black vs. White” model of race and ethnic relations in the U.S., and African Americans must recognize the impact of this social transformation….a strategy for Black empowerment and the ability to build coalitions based on mutual self-interest with others is needed.

Factions have always existed in this city and in this highly contentious nation. The broad consensus that supposedly prevailed in earlier days is largely a nostalgic illusion. We are not and will never be a city, a nation, or a republic of virtue animated by perfect brotherhood. We are too large, too varied, too free, and too human for that. But there have always been those among us who have sought to achieve that perfection, that spirit of brotherhood, who valued compassion and who were willing to fight for the underdog, for the least favored among us. There were always those few who really believed in this country, who took its most revered documents seriously. Such persons, always in the forefront of the fight for freedom, respected the first Amendment and the Bill of Rights and had the strange belief that they applied to everyone.

To believe in America and its possibility of renewal, one must ultimately believe in individual Americans: those countless citizens, Black, White, Asian, Hispanic, rich and poor, male and female, young and old, who despite all doubts and obstacles go about their lives with courage, patience, competence and cheerful persistence, with the odd conviction that their city and their country are still experiments and must stand for something beyond survival.

For Philadelphia, that identity should be based on mutual respect, shared values, opportunity for all and a celebration of diversity.

Dr. Bernard C. Watson

Educator, administrator and foundation executive, Watson served as a teacher, counselor and principal in his hometown of Gary, Indiana; Deputy Superintendent of Schools in Philadelphia; Professor, Department Chairman and Academic Vice President of Temple University and President & CEO of the William Penn Foundation. Appointed to education commissions by Presidents Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, Watson is the recipient of the Philadelphia Award and twenty-four honorary degrees. He earned his PhD from the University of Chicago.

HOW WE TOOK CITY HALL THROUGH A MOVEMENT

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.

Those who read it will see that the Black pioneers who pursued public office in Philadelphia during this time were driven and purposeful, and committed to the agenda of empowering Black Philadelphians. They recognized that politics was not the end game, but rather a means to achieving genuine social change and equal justice.

It is hoped that political scientists and students of history will especially find this book useful. While the book looks at some events before 1950, the preliminary period of 1950 to 1968 was critical in bringing about the transformation that took place between 1968 and 1983. For purposes of clarity, this book will discuss the major events of my administration and the administrations of Philadelphia’s subsequent mayors from 1992 to 2016, in order to illustrate the evolution of Black empowerment in the city and how these mayors came to be elected. Philadelphia has had three African American mayors.