The Honorable Harold Washington

The Honorable Harold Washington. . , The Honorable Harold Washington , (1922-1987) , Chicago's First Black Mayor, Harold Washington was a consummate politician, a political genius that rose through the rough and tumble political landscape to become the first African-American Mayor of the City of Chicago., Born in Cook County Hospital on April 15, 1922, Mr. Washington lived on the South Side for all his early life. He worked in a meat packing company until joining the Army in 1942. After his discharge, he entered Roosevelt College, one of the few schools allowing enrollment to Blacks, and was elected class president in 1948. In 1952 he graduated from Northwestern University Law School., After distinguished careers as an Illinois State Legislator and Congressmen from Chicago's 1st Congressional District, Mr. Washington became the City's First African American Mayor. When he was elected on April 12, 1983, he was the forty-second (42nd) person to become Mayor of Chicago. He was inaugurated on April 29, 1983 at the Navy Pier., Mayor Washington ran for a second term, and won re-election on April 7, 1987, but was struck down by a heart attack on November 26, 1987. His body lay in state in City Hall, while tens of thousands of mourners paid their final respects. Services were held in Christ University Temple on South Ashland. On November 30, 1987 he was interred at Oak Woods Cemetery on Chicago's South Side.