Harold Washington’s name is synonymous with the city of Chicago. There is a library, a park, a cultural center and a college, all named in his honor. His historic mayoral run and tenure as the first Black mayor of Chicago shaped the city and the nation. His legacy continues to do so today.

“When you look at, contemporarily, what … it looks like to organize for Black political candidates, the epitome … is Harold Washington in this city,” said Richard Benson, associate professor of the Black radical tradition in education at the University of Pittsburgh.

A campaign to remember

Washington’s 1983 mayoral campaign brought together a coalition of voters who’d previously been ignored in one of the most segregated cities in the nation. The former lawyer-turned-state-senator and then U.S. congressman was often called the “People’s Mayor.” He campaigned for government transparency and equitable distribution of city services and steps toward ending racial division in Chicago.

When Washington ran for mayor in 1983, he was running against the “Daley Machine”: a deeply entrenched part of Chicago politics that made it difficult for non-machine Democrats to have any chance of winning as Richard J. Daley served as Chicago’s mayor from 1955 to 1976 and his son Richard M. Daley eventually held mayoral office from 1989 to 2011.

When Washington first ran, it had only been 13 years since Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Freedom Movement had visited Chicago. According to Benson, the people who had been involved in that movement in their youth now had the organizing skills to put Washington in office.

“It’s almost like, ‘Oh, OK, well, we’ve been here before,’” Benson said. “‘We know what to do.’ They’re veterans at this time.”

Opposition in office

Even so, Washington’s run and electoral win were met with fierce opposition, including from other members of local government. Much of what he tried to accomplish as mayor was blocked, often by a 29-alderman coalition that voted against anything Washington tried to accomplish.

“Washington is entering into the type of city that is pretty much divided racially (and) ethnically,’ Benson said, adding that while the North was largely white, “West is Black. South is Black.”

According to Benson, “white flight” to the suburbs also added to this phenomenon and created an even more divided Chicago for Washington to inherit.

Still, during his time as mayor, some say Washington united the coalitions and groups of people who voted for him. Daniel López, president of Harold Washington College, said that as a Latino man he feels the impact that Washington left.

“It is very special for me to be able to serve at a college that is my alma mater, but also that bears his name,” López said. “Because of all the things he did in terms of uniting Latinos and the Black community here in Chicago. We lived it.”

López said he and the university community work to uphold Washington’s legacy through “showcasing and educating folks on his work.”

Art and education

A 40-foot mural of Washington welcomes visitors to the college’s lobby, which López said speaks to Washington’s work here in Chicago and on a broader scale.

“We’re very proud of that work here,” he said. “Our students … get to learn about Harold and the contributions he made to Chicago and specifically to city colleges.”

Members of the college engage with Washington’s legacy through coursework, events and collaborations with other organizations like the downtown Harold Washington Library Center, which has a museum with a number of historical documents and photographs from Washington’s time in office.

Every year, the college community also celebrates Washington’s April 15 birthday in collaboration with the Mayor Harold Washington Legacy Committee, a nonprofit organization that includes many former members of Washington’s administration and campaign staff. Festivities include a breakfast, cake and yearly showing of Joe Winston and Raymond Lambert’s documentary “Punch 9 for Harold Washington.”

López called the celebration “an opportunity for us to educate folks on this contribution, especially the younger generations that may not know much about him.”

Legacy in the city

In addition to the college, which aims to honor Washington’s commitment to education, the Harold Washington Cultural Center provides opportunities for artistic and media education in the Bronzeville neighborhood. According to Jimalita Tillman, a DePaul alum who is the cultural center’s global director, the center’s programming serves to “deter at-risk behavior in youth and young adults through media, performing and visual arts.”

With three dance studios, a thousand-seat theater, a recording studio and a podcast lab, the center helps keep Washington’s “legacy alive through the arts,” Tillman said.

The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center offers an exhibit on Washington that features his animatronic likeness. The exhibit chronicles Washington’s activism, his political career and the work he did in office and beyond.

Benson said Washington’s time in Chicago marked a change in the political landscape for good, bringing grassroots organizing to the area to mobilize a new voter base. But, he added, the legacy of Harold Washington, the man, continues to impact the people of Chicago and the nation.

“The symbolism was not unique to or relegated to just Chicago,” Benson said. “It held a ubiquitous spirit of inspiration nationally.”

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