The Chicago Mayor Who Inspired Barack Obama Before the White House

Former President Barack Obama and Chicago Mayor Washington at a Roseland Vocational Training and Job Placement Assistance Center ribbon cutting, March 23, 1987. credit Peter J Schulz

One of the biggest influences on Barack Obama’s political career is rarely talked about. It wasn’t a president or a U.S. senator. It was Chicago’s first Black mayor.

With the recent opening of the Obama Presidential Center on Chicago’s South Side, much of the conversation has focused on Barack Obama’s remarkable journey. But one of the people who helped inspire his journey is often overlooked.

When Harold Washington was elected mayor of Chicago in 1983, he became the city’s first Black mayor and forever changed Chicago politics. More than a historic political victory, Washington represented a new model of leadership that inspired a young college graduate hundreds of miles away in New York.That young man was Barack Obama.

Fresh out of Columbia University, Obama was searching for meaningful work in public service. Before accepting a position as a community organizer on Chicago’s South Side, he even applied for a job in Harold Washington’s administration. He never received a response.

Although Obama wasn’t hired, he closely followed Washington’s administration. He watched the mayor build coalitions, challenge Chicago’s political machine, and demonstrate what principled Black political leadership could accomplish.

Years later, Obama would openly acknowledge how much Washington had influenced him. “I originally moved to Chicago in part because of the inspiration of Mayor Washington’s campaign. I’ll never forget how he reached out to everyone Black, Brown and White, to build a coalition for change.”

As a community organizer, Obama later worked alongside members of Washington’s administration on neighborhood issues. Those experiences reinforced a lesson that would shape the rest of his career, that community organizing could transform individual neighborhoods, but lasting structural change often required political power and legal training. That realization led to one of the most important decisions of Obama’s young life.

He had been accepted to Northwestern University School of Law which is Harold Washington’s alma mater, with a full scholarship. At the same time, he was admitted to Harvard Law School without a comparable scholarship. Obama ultimately chose Harvard Law School, believing it would give him the broadest platform to pursue public service and because Obama’s father’s dream was to attend Harvard. Obama later became the first Black president of the Harvard Law Review, graduated from Harvard Law School, and then made another defining decision.

He came back and returned to Chicago, resumed community organizing, entered Illinois politics, and eventually became the 44th President of the United States. Obama was never able to tell Harold Washington directly how much he had inspired him. On November 25, 1987, only months after winning a second term, Washington suddenly collapsed in his office at City Hall and died of a heart attack at the age of 65. His death stunned Chicago and marked the end of one of the most transformative political movements in Chicago history. Washington had several health issues but to this day, many people here in Chicago believed there was foul play in his death.

Today, visitors will walk through the Obama Presidential Center and celebrate one of the most consequential presidents in American history. But before Barack Obama became a symbol of hope for millions, he was a young man searching for purpose. Harold Washington provided an example and spark for Obama. Harold Washington didn’t just change Chicago. He helped shape the man who would one day become President of the United States.

☕ Support independent writing & research:

If you enjoy my work at the intersection of sports, markets and history, you can support the Dr. J Sr platform here:

https://ko-fi.com/drjsr