Willie Wilbert Herenton was born in Memphis on April 23, 1940. He was raised by a single mother and as a youth, had dreams of becoming a professional boxer. He eventually decided that he wanted to go into education and attended college at Lemoyne-Owen. After graduation he obtained a position as a city school teacher. He went on to earn his Master's Degree at Memphis State University and became Memphis' youngest principal at 27 years of age. After obtaining his Doctorate from Southern Illinois University, he became the superintendent of Memphis City Schools.
In 1988, Herenton was divorced from his wife, Ida, with whom he had three children. He would later father a fourth child in 2004.
In 1991, Herenton entered the race for Memphis mayor going up against incumbent, Dick Hackett. It was a close race and Herenton won by just 142 votes. After serving four consecutive terms, the mayor was elected to an unprecedented fifth term in October of 2007, winning by only 42% of the popular vote. Less than six months later, Herenton announced his plan to resign from his position as mayor, effective July 31, 2008. He has since retracted his resignation and continues to serve as mayor of Memphis.
