RESOLUTION Honoring the Life and Legacy of Mayor Harold Washington
WHEREAS, It has been the long-established custom of the Chicago City Council, this august Legislative body, to honor the legacy of those distinguished individuals and leaders whose life, work and civic endeavor serve to uplift, expand and enhance the quality of life for Chicagoans; and
WHEREAS, the Mayor Harold Washington Legacy Committee, an Illinois 501.C.3 organization, believes that in honor of the date April 15, 2017, which would have been the 95th birthday of Mayor Washington, this is an excellent time to remember and celebrate the legacy, history, civic commitment and the achievements of our city's 1st African American Mayor; and
WHEREAS, 2017 also marks the 30th Anniversary of the death of the Late Mayor Harold Washington; and
WHEREAS, not only during the month of April 2017, but throughout the remainder of the year, it is important that we, as brethren, reach out to one another in seeking to understand the life and work of this great man in a positively proactive, educationally-significant and devoted way; and
WHEREAS, Chicago has proudly been called home by many influential African Americans including Olympic gold medalists Jesse Owens and Ralph Metcalfe, acclaimed writer and Poet Laureate Gwendolyn Brooks, Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winning author Toni Morrison, the nation's first African-American former President Barack Obama and many others; and
Whereas, Mayor Harold Washington was an exemplary public servant and dynamic leader who dedicated his life to his beloved Chicago and to equal opportunity for all of Chicago's citizens; and
Whereas, Harold Lee Washington was born on April 15,1922 in Chicago; and
Whereas, Harold Washington, a resident of Chicago's historic south side Bronzeville community, was a graduate of DuSable High School, Roosevelt University, and the Northwestern University School of Law; and
Whereas, Washington served his country during World War II with the 1887th ...
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