Remembering Mayor Harold Washington on his 100th birthday

April 15, 2022 marks what would have been Mayor Harold Washington’s 100th birthday. With an unmatched personality, spirit, and ability to build a diverse coalition for change, his 1983 election as Chicago’s first Black mayor left a lasting legacy. Washington set a new course for politics, showed a young community organizer named Barack Obama that power comes from people, and inspired our own CEO Valerie Jarrett to enter public service.
That’s why we’ve teamed up with the History Channel to honor Mayor Washington’s remarkable story. It’s also why, thanks to the generosity of Alphawood Foundation Chicago and its founder Fred Eychaner, a prominent overlook in the Museum of the Obama Presidential Center will be named
in Washington’s honor and inspire visitors to create change in their own communities.