Political Swagger

Politics has always been strange to me. I grew up in Chicago- a city known for the Democratic Machine. Dems ran (and still run) the city, but unlike the days of old, the Voting Machines aren't fixed, and the underdog can win.

So my political swagger started the day my high school was invaded by Jesse Jackson, Todd Bridges and Stoney Jackson. Now, Todd was between Rehab and Jail. Stoney was just getting into the heavy Eyeliner, and Rev. Jackson was gearing up to make a run at the White House. Sounds like a strange combination of characters, but it worked. These were the people that delivered unto me my first taste of political power and swagger.

The goal was to get all of us 18 year old Seniors to register to vote. We did. What happened next was well, historic. We were part of a huge wave of new black voters in Chicago, and we helped elect the first black mayor of Chicago. Don't know his name? It's Harold Washington. Now Mayor Washington's run broke the hold of the Machine in Chicago. He was not the establishment's candidate and spent his first term in office fighting with those who refused to accept him as mayor.

What Harold Washington managed to do was give the African American community in Chicago something to feel great about. He symbolized the power of the people to move the system forward. You see, this was my first taste of "Yes We Can", only it was "Run Harold Run!"