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Labor History Society Honors Harold
2024 Event Posthumously
Salutes His Advocacy
(Left to Right) MHWLC directors Wyola Evans, Clarence Jenkins, Jerry Stone, Harold's niece Karen Stone, Stanley Young, Dr. Barbara Norman, and Thomas Wortham accept the posthumous award from ILHS.
Labor Still Remembers His Contributions
On Friday, November 22, 2024, the Illinois Labor History Society posthumously recognized the late Mayor Harold Washington for his lifelong advocacy of union and human rights and for engaging union members and labor activists during its Union Hall of Honor Banquet Fundraiser. The theme for the annual event celebrating Illinois labor advocates was "Service to the Nation."
The Society expressed its gratitude for Harold's commitment to Labor during his tenures in the Illinois State Senate and House of Representatives from 1965 until 1976, as the Congressman from Illinois’ 1st District from 1981 to 1983, and as Chicago’s 51st Mayor from 1983-1987, when he became the first African American to be elected to that post. Also honored this year were Eric M. Dean, General President of the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental, and Reinforcing Iron Workers, and the late Edward M. Smith, Laborers’ Union (LiUNA Local 773) and Chairman and CEO of Ullico.