Free Republic

Was the matriarch of a Memphis political dynasty a white woman who married into a black family? Or was she a black woman with a white forefather buried in her lineage, a past shared with millions of black people?And why does it matter?Vera D. Ford The race of Vera Ford, the paternal grandmother of U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr., came up when Harold Jr. declared she was white while campaigning for the U.S. Senate in Tennessee. His statement, first reported in December in a USA Today profile of the congressman, surprised many longtime Memphians who knew the Ford family and...

Bryant poses the risk of Alexander's vulnerability By Richard Locker locker@gomemphis.com July 31, 2002 MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Republican Ed Bryant told party activists Tuesday that Democrats will attack Lamar Alexander's personal "financial dealings'' if he wins the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate, leaving the seat vulnerable to a loss. In a campaign stop at the Rutherford County GOP headquarters, Bryant and a prominent campaign supporter, retired TBI director Arzo Carson, cited Alexander's personal finances to bolster Bryant's argument he is more capable of holding the Senate seat for the GOP in the general election. Bryant said Democrat Bob Clement...