Winning the Highest Office in the City

Harold Washington was a member of the Democratic Party machine in Chicago. He served as a precinct captain in the city's predominantly African American 3rd Ward in the 1950's, a position his father held during his time in the municipal government. He served in the Illinois State government as a state representative from 1965-1977 and as a state senator from 1977-1981. In 1981 he was elected to serve in the as a representative in the United States Congress up until 1983 when he was elected Chicago's first African American mayor. Washington believed in working within the system to fight for equal rights for African Americans in Chicago, and played by the rules of the Democratic machine in the city. Once in office, he worked to make the municipal government more fair for all citizens of the city and brought more development and a more equal distribution of resources to minority neighborhoods. He also led the effort in Illinois to create a holiday recognizing Martin Luther King, Jr., a reminder of the long struggle for equal rights that African Americans in Chicago have engaged in since the early days of the Great Migration.