Sawyer, Eugene, 1934-2008

Eugene Sawyer Jr. (September 3, 1934 – January 19, 2008) was an American businessman, educator, and politician. Sawyer was selected as the 53rd Mayor of Chicago, Illinois after the sudden death of then–mayor Harold Washington, serving from December 2, 1987 until April 24, 1989. A member of the Democratic Party, Sawyer was previously an alderman representing Chicago's 6th Ward.

Born in Greensboro, Alabama, Sawyer spent summer vacations in Chicago with his aunt during his childhood. Sawyer enrolled Alabama State University, where he joined the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. During college, Sawyer and other members of his fraternity provided security for Martin Luther King Jr. during the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott. He graduated from Alabama State in 1956 with bachelor's degree in chemistry. He had a brief stint as a chemistry and mathematics teacher in Prentiss, Mississippi, before moving to Chicago to do laboratory work in 1957. Shortly after moving to Chicago, Sawyer took a job in Chicago’s Department of Water, where he worked from 1959 until 1971. While working for the city's water department, Sawyer became involved with the Six Ward Regular Democratic organization and the Young Democrats (YD) through family friends, becoming the organization president and financial secretary in October 1968.

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