Mural celebrates life of Mayor Harold Washington

On Thursday, April 13, A mural depicting the life of Harold Washington was unveiled at Harold Washington College. Photo provided by City Colleges of Chicago.
On Thursday, April 13, A mural depicting the life of Harold Washington was unveiled at Harold Washington College. Photo provided by City Colleges of Chicago.

Mural celebrates life of Mayor Harold Washington

By Tia Carol Jones

A mural that depicts the life and legacy of Mayor Harold Washington now sits at the college that bears his name. On Thursday, April 13th, the mural, created by Judith Mayer, was unveiled at Harold Washington College, located at 30 E. Lake St. The unveiling was a celebration of the mural and an opportunity for people to reflect on the lasting legacy of Washington, who was Chicago’s first Black Mayor.

The idea for the mural came after the celebration of Washington’s 100st Birthday. The college gathered community members and college stakeholders to discuss how to celebrate. Students came up with the idea to do a mural. It took more than a year to complete.
Harold Washington College President Daniel Lopez said the college is always looking for ways to celebrate Washington, because of all of the things he did, and how those things connect to the mission and values of the college.

“It’s an opportunity for us to continue to celebrate, to acknowledge and educate the college community, and the Chicago area community, about the accomplishments and contributions of Harold Washington, not just to the college but for the city. Quite simply for me, it’s also what he did in terms of race relations across the country,” Lopez said.

The muralist was chosen by a committee of college stakeholders and community members after proposals were submitted. Harold Washington College was looking for a mural that depicted the complexities of Washington’s legacy in the city and state. There were more than 10 entries and Mayer’s was chosen. “We had a number of entries and we chose this one which we thought was truly representative of his work and what he means for many of us here at the college and in the City of Chicago,” Lopez said.

Lopez said all of the mural submissions were really creative. When he first saw Mayer’s mural rendering, he was drawn to how it represented Washington’s work in the city and state. Part of the mural depicts the space where Washington sat in state government and Congress. Lopez liked the references to Washington’s Mayoral campaign, with Punch 9. He also liked the colors and how the mural incorporates Washington’s life as a leader and a person.

Lopez noticed the smiles on people’s faces during the unveiling. People who worked with Washington, as well as people from the Harold Washington Legacy Committee, attended the unveiling. Lopez believes the mural really resonated with them and reminded them of the work they did with him. Josie Brown Childs face was incorporated in the mural. Childs, who was the founder of the Mayor Harold Washington Legacy Committee, passed away in February.

“This is really a proud moment for us here at Harold, we have a number of photographs that we have from him, but this is the first mural of him. What I really like is that this was a community effort,” Lopez said, adding that student leaders helped to work on the mural.

Harold Washington College was named the Citizen Leadership Center by the Citizens Campaign. The free class provides leadership training. For more information, visit https://thecitizenscampaign.org.

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