‘Morning Shift’ Marks 35 Years Since Chicago Elected Its First Black Mayor
By Meha Ahmad‘Morning Shift’ Marks 35 Years Since Chicago Elected Its First Black Mayor
By Meha AhmadThirty-five years ago, Chicago history was made when voters elected the city’s first black mayor. On April 12, 1983, former U.S. Congressman Harold Washington was elected Chicago’s 41st mayor. Washington beat Republican Bernie Epton after a bitter, racially-charged campaign. To mark the 35th anniversary of Washington’s election, Morning Shift talks to three journalists who covered the historic race: Laura Washington is a columnist for the Chicago Sun Times and political analyst for ABC 7, in 1983 she was journalist for the Chicago Reporter; Ray Hanania, is a political commentator and stand-up comedian, and during the Washington/Epton election he was a reporter for the Daily Southtown newspaper; and Monroe Anderson is a veteran journalist and former Columbia College instructor, who was working for Chicago Tribune in 1983.