Black Power in Chicago: An Historical Overview of Class Stratification and Electoral Politics in a Black Urban Community

The 1983 election of Harold Washington as mayor of Chicago represented the fruition of black social reform currents within the city's turbulent political history. Black Chicago was dominated for decades by Republican and Democratic machines. Economically, blacks experienced permanently high unemployment rates and severe income inequality. Initially, black middle class leaders followed a policy of accommodation to the dominant economic and political interests. This strategy was overturned in the 1970s and 1980s, as black reformist elites, workers and the unemployed used the electoral system to challenge the status quo. The long-term success of Washington will depend upon a continued mass mobilization of black labor.