Monday Aug 4 6:00 Special Program

Short Version to read if you are in a hurry!

What: “Harold Washington: Roots, Branches, and Bridges Across Illinois,”

When: Monday August 4 2025 6:00-7:30 Illinois time for Indiana folks who hope to attend

Where:Pinkstaff United Methodist Church Felllowship Hall 12689 Pinkstaff lane

Documentary Film and program

Homemade Pie and Ice Cream

Air conditioned-- plenty of parking-- handicapped accessible

Event hosted by Lawrence County Historical Society and Illinois Humanities -

Admission is Free

 Longer version if you want to know more about this event and why its important to Lawrence County history written by Illinois Humanities

     The Lawrence County Historical Society and Illinois Humanities enthusiastically invite the public to attend “Harold Washington: Roots, Branches, and Bridges Across Illinois” at the Pinkstaff United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall, 12689 Pinkstaff Lane in Pinkstaff, on Monday, August 4, from 6:00 to 7:30 PM. Admission is free. Registration is now open via ilhumanities.org/events/harold-washington-illinois-roots and is recommended but not required. 

     The event, part of Illinois Humanities’ program series, The Country and the City: Common Ground in the Prairie State?, will explore the southern Illinois roots of Harold Washington (1922-1987), the first African American to serve as mayor of Chicago. 

     Washington had significant family ties to rural African American communities in several of Illinois’s southern counties, including Lawrence, where his grandfather, Rev. Mack Washington, pastored A.M.E. churches in Pinkstaff and Lawrenceville in the 1910s and ‘20s. The mayor’s father, Roy Washington, graduated from Lawrenceville Township High School.

     “Harold Washington: Roots, Branches, and Bridges Across Illinois” will feature discussion of questions such as these: 

  How might Washington’s family roots have influenced his outlook on urban-rural and interregional dynamics within Illinois? 

 What does his family background illustrate about African American history in Illinois and about relationships between rural Black communities downstate and Black communities within Chicago? 

 What lessons can we learn from his career as a public official and his perspective on statewide relations in Illinois, and how might we apply those lessons beneficially now and in the future? 

     The event will include the premiere of a short film that presents an overview of Washington’s connections to southern Illinois and his involvement in state government.  Produced by Illinois Humanities in cooperation with Baldwin Media Development, the film features commentary by Larry Curry, vice president of the Lawrence County Historical Society and a descendant of early Black residents of the Pinkstaff area, as well as community historians from Saline County. The film draws extensively upon a remarkable book by genealogist Curtis Brasfield, The Ancestry of Mayor Harold Washington (Heritage Books, 1993).

     Following the film screening, researcher John King of the Lawrence County Historical Society will describe the Washington family’s associations with Pinkstaff and Lawrenceville. Local historian Brendan Jennings will discuss the similarly long-established African American community of the Lakeview-Carrier Mills area, where Washington’s mother, Bertha Jones, was raised, and where his parents lived before moving to Chicago. 

     Additionally, “Harold Washington: Roots, Branches, and Bridges Across Illinois” will remember the historic 1977 Illinois Senate leadership election, during which the Black Caucus, led by then-Senator Washington, cooperated with the predominantly downstate-based Democratic Study Group, led by Terry Bruce of Olney, in pursuit of reform. Nine years later, Washington would become the first Chicago mayor in living memory to make official visits to downstate cities such as Champaign, Peoria, and East St. Louis to address mutual concerns and opportunities for collaboration with local officials. Those visits will be another topic of discussion. 

     The audience will be invited to ask questions, make comments, and participate in conversation about what Washington’s life and career can teach us about urban-rural and interregional relations in Illinois. 

     The event will also feature African American sacred music played by pianist Rose Gerhart Robeson and homemade pie and ice cream provided by the Lawrence County Historical Society. 

     “Harold Washington’s family history, like those of many Black Illinoisans, spans our state from rural communities in the Ohio Valley to the metropolis on the shore of Lake Michigan,” commented Matt Meacham, program manager for statewide engagement with Illinois Humanities. “We’re eager to visit a place that’s especially important within that history and hear current residents’ reflections on Washington’s legacy and their insights about rural-urban relations in Illinois today.” 

     Meacham added, “It’s always a privilege and a pleasure to work with the amazing Lawrence County Historical Society.” 

     Both the location and the date of “Harold Washington: Roots, Branches, and Bridges Across Illinois” are significant in relation to the event’s subject matter.  After Bethel A.M.E. Church near Pinkstaff and St. James A.M.E. Church in Lawrenceville closed, some members of those congregations joined Pinkstaff United Methodist Church, which helps to perpetuate their legacies. Furthermore, before Juneteenth became standardized nationally as a date for celebrating Emancipation, many communities in southern Illinois and surrounding regions traditionally observed Emancipation Day in early August. 

     For further details and updates, visit ilhumanities.org/events/harold-washington-illinois-roots. Illinois Humanities is a statewide nonprofit organization that activates the humanities through free public programs,grants, and educational opportunities that spark conversation, foster reflection, build community, and strengthen civic engagement for everyone in Illinois. We provide free, high-quality humanities experience throughout Illinois, particularly for communities of color, individuals living on low incomes, counties and towns in rural areas, small arts and cultural organizations, and communities highly impacted by mass incarceration. Founded in 1974, we are the state partner for theNational Endowment for the Humanities and supported by state, federal, and private funds.

Learn more at ilhumanities.org and on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn @ILHumanities.