A C Wharton
| A C Wharton, Jr. | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 63rd Mayor of Memphis | |
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In office October 26, 2009 – December 31, 2015 |
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| Preceded by |
Willie Herenton Myron Lowery (pro tem) |
| Succeeded by | Jim Strickland |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Lebanon, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Ruby |
| Alma mater |
Tennessee State University (BA) University of Mississippi (J.D.) |
| Website | ACwharton |
A C Wharton, Jr. is an American teacher, politician, and attorney who served as the 63rd mayor of Memphis, Tennessee and previously mayor of Shelby County, he is the first African American to serve in that office.
A C Wharton was born and raised in Lebanon, Tennessee. A C Wharton shares his name with his father and grandfather, and named his eldest son by the same name. Wharton has stated that his first name is simply the letters "A" and "C" and does not stand for anything else.
He graduated from Tennessee State University with a degree in Political Science and earned a law degree from the University of Mississippi. He became an academic, teaching at the university for 25 years.
In 1980, then-Shelby County Mayor Bill Morris appointed Wharton as Chief Shelby County Public Defender. His concern for the mentally ill in the criminal justice system resulted in the Jericho Initiative, which became a national model program. He chaired the county’s Jail Overcrowding Committee and developed new ways to reduce overcrowding without compromising public safety.
In 2002 Wharton was elected as the first African-American mayor of Shelby County. He became a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, a group with the stated goal of "making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets." Wharton initiated Operation Safe Community. In addition, he developed a program to help prisoners develop the skills to succeed in life and to support their families. He increased funding for the drug court. He is credited with working to toughen gun laws and seeking passage of laws that make criminals pay into a special program to help victims.
Wharton improved the management and accountability of the County's Head Start program. His reforms attracted the attention of the United States Congress, where he was called to testify before the House Committee on Education, with many of his subsequent recommendations being incorporated as changes to public policy. He was a strong advocate "Books from Birth," a unique early-childhood education program which provides books for over 28,000 children in Memphis and Shelby County every year.
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