This illustration is a mockup of a poster for the election of Harold Lee Washington, the first African American mayor of Chicago.
One of the founding members of the Organization of Black American Culture (OBAC) and lead muralist for the Wall of Respect, 1967 Bill (William) Walker had a thirty-year career as a muralist and community activist. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, he moved to Chicago in 1938, and he was drafted to the US Army to fight in World War II and the Korean War. Under the GI Bill, he enrolled in commercial art courses at the Columbus Gallery of Art in Ohio (now the Columbus College of Art and Design). He switched majors from commercial to fine art halfway through his degree. After graduating, he went to Memphis, where he painted his first murals. A year later, in 1955, Walker returned to Chicago and worked on the Wall of Respect with OBAC. Afterward, he co-founded the Chicago Mural Group (later renamed the Chicago Public Art Group) in 1970. Walker continued painting until 1988 when he no longer could climb the scaffolding. His final mural once again honored Harold Washington, who served as mayor from 1983 until his premature death in 1987.
