Progress Illinois

On April 29, 1983 -- 25 years ago today -- Harold Washington was sworn in as the first African-American mayor of Chicago. Reluctant to run in the first place, Washington was swept into office by a massive voter registration drive (130,000 new voters added to the rolls!) that mobilized a multiracial coalition around his candidacy.

Last November, In These Times' Salim Muwakkil reflected on the Washington years in an article commemorating the 20th anniversary of his premature death:

Although a haze of nostalgia may cloud our recall of the Harold Washington years, few can disagree that that era was a time of hopeful activism. His mayoral tenure was a time of governmental transparency, political fairness and even racial reconciliation. The Washington years were a time when progressive coalitions of multiracial and multiethnic Chicagoans were celebrating their successes and mobilizing for more.

Of course, there also was a backlash of an anxious white electorate and zealous opposition. Many in that camp opposed Washington for racist reasons and others were ideological opponents of his progressive assaults on the encrusted Chicago machine. Those epic conflicts earned Chicago the moniker, “Beirut on the Lake,” drawing comparisons to the brutal civil war then raging in Lebanon’s capital city. The rancor cooled following a special election that gave Washington a more balanced city council, and the mayor went to work engineering the fairest administration the city had ever seen.

It may be comforting to dream of those days and gloat about the triumphs and the promise of that era. But the Washington years happened because people were not dreaming or awash in nostalgia—they were awake and active.

Commemorations of the 20th anniversary of his death should act as a wake-up call to those of us who may have forgotten the promise ignited by this amazing intellectual of the people who became a political champion.

For those who may have forgotten: check out This American Life's great episode devoted to Washington's tenure and legacy. And head over to Archpundit for more coverage of the anniversary throughout the day.