NYC's Mamdani's popularity — along with the reactionary ire — echo Harold Washington's insurgency
Over four decades ago, Harold Washington shattered Chicago's political machine and cracked open the gates of power. His election as mayor was a loud signal that those pushed to the margins had found their voice, their coalition, their champion.
As veteran activists, we were among the many who worked to elect Chicago’s first Black mayor. We knocked on doors, registered voters and organized with our neighbors who believed City Hall belongs to the people.
We didn’t just witness history, we helped make it. Forty-two years later, we hear echoes of that grassroots fire in New York City's Zohran Mamdani, who has charted a course familiar to Chicagoans who remember the electrifying power of Washington’s insurgency.
In 1982, we lived in the white Northwest Side of the city. We pushed our kids door to door in a stroller loaded with campaign literature, talking with neighbors. A woman asked, "Aren’t you scared? Once 'they' get elected, who’s going to collect the garbage?"
Others voiced worry about crime or property values. Some expressed shock we could support a Black man for mayor. A few slammed their doors.
We tried to defuse the warnings being spread by ward bosses, that if Washington were elected, white neighborhoods would be targets of "race war." Grassroots organizing helped neutralize the fear.
The bulwark of support for Washington was Chicago’s Black community. A historic effort registered over 200,000 new voters. Black residents turned out in record numbers to donate, vote and joyfully celebrate the win.
Similarly, Mamdani led an energetic voter registration effort, yielding a substantial edge in Democratic mayoral primary last month.
Washington and Mamdani hailed from vastly different places, geographically and culturally. Harold, from Chicago’s South Side, was a World War II vet and a seasoned politician who became mayor at age 61. Mamdani, 33, born in Uganda to South Asian immigrant parents, is based in Queens and serves as a New York state assemblyman.
When Washington won Chicago’s 1983 primary, the city’s Democratic machine didn’t rally behind him — they revolted. The machine backed a Republican opponent, Bernard Epton, under the racist slogan, "Before it’s too late."
After Washington won the Democratic primary, the machine adopted its notorious racist motto: "Anyone But Harold." The machine feared not just Washington but the multiracial coalition that carried him to victory.
Washington trounced Epton in the general election.
Today, the pattern repeats. Like Washington, Mamdani faces coordinated attacks from establishment Democrats and Republicans alike. Some party operatives denounce him as "too extreme." Donald Trump has called for Mamdani’s deportation.
The politics of fear haven’t changed — they’ve just gone digital. Mamdani’s victory shows these desperate attacks don't dissuade New Yorkers, just as they couldn't stop Washington's coalition.
Both Washington and Mamdani dared to speak hard truths: about systemic racism, economic exploitation and international human rights.
Washington was outspoken on issues such as the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa. He created commissions on Latino, Jewish and LGBTQ affairs, and enacted Chicago’s first sanctuary city policy in defiance of the Reagan administration.
Mamdani has maintained his unapologetic stance on global justice, including Palestinian liberation. In both cases, the old guard responded with panic — not because the candidates were dangerous, but because they were effective. Mamdani’s victory came despite strong opposition from his own party leaders. Voters turned out for him in record numbers.
Washington, a brilliant intellectual, grasped the realpolitik of his time, famously reminding friends and opponents alike, "Politics ain’t beanbag." He fought hard; the foundation of his strategy was to build a movement, not just an electoral campaign.
That meant venturing not only into Black churches and barbershops, but into less friendly environments to address the concerns and prejudices in segregated neighborhoods. Washington’s charisma, warmth and humor, along with a neighborhood-centered platform, won many over.
Mamdani’s campaign reflects the fluid, youthful and cosmopolitan demographics of New York City as a center of the global economy. He’s not afraid to show up all over the city’s vast array of neighborhoods and speak with different ethnic groups, and it has paid off.
Like Washington, Mamdani refuses to be cowed by the guardians of the status quo. His platform — for public housing, fare-free transit, a $30 minimum wage, community groceries — has drawn battle lines that feel familiar. His rise has unsettled Wall Street, the political elite and media gatekeepers, just as Washington’s did.
The question isn't whether Mamdani can live up to Harold Washington’s legacy. The question is whether we, across cities and movements, can join with him in standing up for freedom and equality.
We believe we can.
Michael Klonsky is a retired educator, author and host of Hitting Left Radio in Chicago.
Susan Klonsky is a Chicago-based writer and community activist.