Cultural Center opening, bronze statue, honor memory of Chicago's first Black mayor

The legacy of the late Harold Washington, who made history over 20 years ago by becoming the first Black mayor of Chicago, will continue to help future generations of Blacks with the opening of a newly built cultural center.

Hundreds attended the grand opening of the Harold Washington Cultural Center in the Bronzeville neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, which included the unveiling of a 20-foot, bronze east statue of the late mayor created by world-renowned sculptor Ed Dwight Jr.

The 750-pound statue at the intersection of 47th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive shows an authoritative Washington in a suit and tie, talking as if to a committee while clenching a document in his right hand and gesturing with his left. A biography of Washington's political, military and academic record appears at the bottom of the statue.

"This is a beautiful day, because we welcome Harold home," said Alderman Dorothy Tillman, who championed the construction of the 40,000-square-foot, $19.5 million center. She added that 90 percent of the money to build the center came from public funding.

The facility, which contains a limestone facade, a spiral iron staircase and a dramatic wall of two-story windows, also boasts a 1,000-seat performing arts theater, a digital media resource and a joint radio and broadcast center, according to Jimalita Tillman, executive director and the alderman's daughter.

The 14-piece Harold Washington Cultural Center Orchestra accompanied legendary entertainer and Jazz vibraphonist Roy Ayers who played at the center's grand opening.

Bronzeville is currently the subject of a revitalization effort. In its heyday, it was the city's center of Black cultural, business and political life. It was the former home to such music makers including Scott Joplin, Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton and Fats Walker, as well as legendary blues artist Willie Dixon and others.

Washington, a Chicago native, was elected to the mayor's office in 1983. His victory encouraged Blacks throughout the country to register to vote. During his time as mayor, he left a legacy of Black appointments to top city government jobs. He attended the city's Roosevelt University and earned a B.A. in 1949 and his law degree in 1952 from Northwestern University. Washington was admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1953 and commenced the practice of law in Chicago. He later served 16 years in the Illinois Legislature from 1965-1981 and two years in the United States House of Representatives. He died on November 25, 1987.