It’s been 24 years since former Mayor Harold
Washington was found dead, slumped over his desk at City Hall.
He was 65.
Washington was Chicago’s first Black mayor,
following an election where Black civic, faith, business and other leaders
galvanized the Black community and other groups around the city to help
Washington lay claim to the historic win.
Washington beat then-incumbent Mayor Jayne Byrne
and then- State’s Attorney Richard M. Daley in the February 1983 primary and
Republican Bernard Epton in the general election two months later.
His time
at the helm of the city was contentious, with a block of 29 aldermen, lead by
Aldermen Edward Vrdolyak and Ed Burke, set to vehemently challenge Washington
and his 21 aldermanic supporters.
Washington was a U.S. Congressmen, representing the
1st Congressional District, before being elected mayor.
It was shortly after the start of his second term
that Washington died. An autopsy ruled that he had suffered a heart attack.
A number
of city institutions have been posthumously named after the mayor, including
the Harold Washington Library, Harold Washington College and the Harold
Washington Cultural Center located in Bronzeville.
Copyright
2011 Chicago Defender
