I remember a lot of things over the years and there have been good things and things that I’d rather forget but there is one event I’ll never forget and that was the 1983 election of Harold Washington as Chicago’s first African-American mayor and it was the greatest event that ever happened. After years of machine politics and backroom deals that kept minorities (especially black Chicagoans) out of the process, people rose up and got tired of the racist practices of past political leaders and decided to do something about it and turn to someone else for fair, honest and true leadership for Chicago and that person was Harold Washington. I was 6 years old when he won his April 1983 general election (it was a three person race in the primary), but in the primary Washington prevailed and went on to beat his Republican challenger in the general election (Chicago really was a huge Democratic stronghold city), and he had no problem winning.
I was at home with my parents and my brother and older sisters watching the returns and although I was six at the time (my 7th birthday was in May of that year), the election was on a Tuesday night so after being brought home from school by my one of my sisters everyone gathered around the television about 6:30 and 7:00 (the results would trickle in from time to time), but around 8:30 (or 9:00) Washington was declared the winner and ALL of Chicago was happy (well, not all of the city was glad because this city was considered the most “racial segregated” city in the nation; not by race, but by various neighborhoods) and there were HUGE celebrations in mostly black wards and there were some that said that there would be problems but there was NO problem whatsoever and when I went back to school the next day all the teachers at my school (I lived on the South Side) were cheering and talking about the historic night and I myself joined in the revelry along with my classmates (eventhough we were little-ass kids), but all the same I remember that night 40 years ago as if it were yesterday and I will never forget it whatsoever…
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