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Mayor
Harold Washington
Legacy Committee
. . . the man, the moment, the movement!
MAYOR HAROLD WASHINGTON
LEGACY COMMITTEE WELCOMES YOU
MHWLC Hosted Annual Wreath-Laying Ceremony at Harold's Gravesite
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Speakers remembered the man, the moment, and the movement during the Mayor Harold Washington Legacy Committee's annual wreath-laying ceremony at historic Oak Woods Cemetery on Monday, November 25. The public event was created six years ago to honor the memory and enliven the legacy of the city's 51st mayor and the first African American to hold that office.
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This year's program featured a moving performance of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" by contemporary jazz artist Zemrah. The Reverend Damon O. Smith of Liberty Baptist Church delivered the invocation, followed by opening remarks by MHWLC Vice President Dr. Barbara J. Norman, former deputy commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health during the Washington administration.
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Fifth Ward Alderman Desmon Yancy shared his reflections on Harold, who lived in the ward Yancy currently serves. MSD Global, LLC CEO Devorah Crable, a founding member of MHWLC, recalled the massive voter registration drive that drove Mayor Washington to victory in 1983 and urged the audience to empower the community by encouraging online registration at KYPSvote.us. The final featured speaker, King Hutchinson, 11, a student at Burnside Scholastic Academy, spoke of Harold's inspiration to future generations of leaders. The three then placed a wreath donated by the Black United Fund of Illinois (BUFI) at the gravesite.
In addition to Ald. Yancy, several current and former elected officials with close ties to Mayor Washington attended the event, including Illinois 3rd District Senator Mattie Hunter, Assistant Majority Leader; Illinois Rep. Mary E. Flowers (D-Chicago), 17th Ward Alderman David Moore, and former alderpersons Larry Bloom (5th) and Dorothy Tillman (3rd). Six members of Mayor Washington's security detail, Frank Lee, Robert Lewis, Kevin Marshall, David Rozell, Jesse Williams, and Thomas Wortham, served as the ceremony's honor guard.
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The Harold Washington Legacy Scholarship
About Us
"The Year of Harold: A Centennial Celebration"
The Mayor Harold Washington Legacy Committee designated all of the year 2022 "The Year of Harold: A Centennial Celebration" to commemorate Harold Washington's 100th birthday, which wasApril 15, 2022.
Photo: Centennial Event Chair Loisteen Walker on the left, MHWLC President Josie Childs on the right
Who we are
We are a nonprofit organization whose mission and principles are shaped by our unwavering conviction that Harold Washington was one of our nation’s most influential, effective, and transformative mayors. We were founded in 2013 by Josie Childs, a community and political activist and close associate of Harold Washington. Many of our original members worked in his historic 1983 mayoral campaign or his administration or both.
Our mission is to perpetuate and honor the enduring legacy of Mayor Harold Lee Washington. Through education, commemoration, and events, we strive to inspire movements towards a more just and inclusive Chicago, promote social justice, and ensure that Washington’s legacy continues to inspire positive change.
What we do
Through a variety of educational and civic activities, we attempt to immortalize the global impact of Harold Washington’s social, civic, political and economic legacy. We educate the public about his pivotal role in advancing civil rights, housing equality, and voting access.
How we work
Areas of our involvement
. . . past events
Voter Registration
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--October 4, 2014
6K VOTER REGISTRATION call to action walk through the neighborhood where Harold Washington lived and worked, passing sites significant to him, and ending on the steps of historic Bethel church.
Prepare the Future
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-- 2021 A new Roosevelt University scholarship was established in 2021 through a partnership between Roosevelt University and the Mayor Harold Washington Legacy Committee.
Voter Education
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-- March 16, 2019
One of our community forums held to interview candidates for elected office; this one, held at Bethel Church, featured candidates for mayor of Chicago.
Commemorate the Past
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--November 25, 2020
Our annual wreath laying ceremony at the gravesite of Harold Washington on the anniversary of his death.
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Memorialize
-- November 14, 2014
Photo of some members of the Mayor Harold Washington Legacy Committee attending a Harold Washington library ceremony at which Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel commemorated a plaque to be mounted on the exterior of that library in honor of Mayor Harold Washington. The Mayor Harold Washington Legacy Committee was instrumental in getting that plaque project launched.