HAROLD WASHINGTON,
Late Mayor of the City of Chicago

The Chicago Democratic Political Machine (Part 7)
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What are the chances of a black being elected as mayor of the city? That's hard to say. We can look at statistics, and we can come to some conclusions, but one of the reasons that I am here today is to challenge your African-American Studies to look deep into their question of motivation among black people. Most analyses of black activity are statistical analysis. They deal with the structure, they deal with the final result, how many voted, how many didn't vote, etc. and so forth. That doesn't tell you too much. We need some motivators for research in this area. Why don't black people vote in sufficient numbers? I think I know. I would really like to see that develop for the benefit of people. What is the attitude of black People in the area of accountability for politicians? Do they think it's necessary? Do they think it's possible? What are the standards that they would use to extract from politicians commitments and make certain that those commitments are lived up to? What is the view of the black person towards black politicians? Do they think that they are just straw bosses on the plantation, or do they think they really represent something? What kind of confidence do they have, if any, in blacks? What is the attitude of blacks toward political power as I have attempted to define it today? Do they really want it? If they want it, on what terms do they want it? Do they feel as if it's their natural turn to have it, or are they prepared to sacrifice? In other words, it seems to me, that we might be well directed here to try to get into the black mind in terms of the political potential, the political mindset, because in so doing, I think you will spell out for the benefit of not just blacks, but for people throughout the country just what tortures blacks have suffered over the years in trying to arrive at what I call a Holy Grail.

I have meandered on, but there must be some conclusion drawn from what I am saying. One, as I said before we need this kind of solid research, which I can spell out for you at some detail, at a later time, and I would hope that your organization would undertake that kind of thing. But fundamentally, what we've got to do is deal with the crisis of leadership. I am not one of those who looks for a leader. I wouldn't trust one if I found one. What we should be developing and looking for is a leadership core. A battery as wide as the horizon and beyond of men and women, who are dedicated, activistically dedicated, to putting together enclaves throughout, be they political or otherwise.

Being a politician, I have a tendency to look at things from the narrow tunnel of the political world. I don't askew or overlook the fact that outside of the world there are economics, there is religion, there is education, there are all these other components. But they do come across this whole business of politics. They sort of gather and focus there. Because, and in conclusion, what is politics all about? It's simply the struggle or the art, for the control of government. And what is government all about? It's simply the rules, regs, institutions, traditions, and agencies by which society agrees tacitly or actively to carry out certain programs. And that's what the struggle is all about. In that long struggle, blacks have not done too well. They have not done well because of the traditions and the patterns of this country have to a great extent emasculated and striated and confined the black mind and horizon to very narrow perspectives. That's the whole story. Thank you very much.