In Congress, Rush has continued to press for the release of FBI documents regarding the raid. MIHALOPOULOS: Bobby Rush says in 1969, he was supposed to be with fellow activists Fred Hampton and Mark Clark when law enforcement agents raided the Black Panther's headquarters on the West Side of Chicago and killed them. Senator Carol Moseley Braun, said she's known Rush for 50 years and watched him make big transitions along the way.ĬAROL MOSELEY BRAUN: To people beyond Chicago, he would represent really a radical - an outsider coming inside and that there's opportunity to do that in this system, in our system. MIHALOPOULOS: Another prominent Southside politician, former U.S. You know, whether you are a supporter or not, Bobby Rush has been there and been a champion for our community for a long time. I'm going down there to see the history of it all. RODERICK SAWYER: You know, this is the end of an era. Today, he had nothing but praise for the congressman. But Bobby Rush is 75 and says he will not run for reelection this year and instead continue his lifelong activism as the longtime pastor of a church on Chicago's South Side.Ĭhicago Alderman Rod Sawyer worked with Obama when he ran against Rush in that 2000 primary. MIHALOPOULOS: Rush went on to serve another 11 terms in Congress. In an interview with WBEZ after leaving the White House, Obama chuckled at the memory of a lesson learned from his political elder.īARACK OBAMA: He did more than just defeat me. But before Barack Obama made it to the White House, he lost badly running as a primary challenger against Bobby Rush in 2000. Dan Mihalopoulos, of member station WBEZ in Chicago, reports.ĭAN MIHALOPOULOS, BYLINE: For generations, Chicago's South Side has been one of the country's most important launching pads for Black politicians that includes the only Black president. Rush rose to prominence as a Black Panther Party leader during the civil rights movement and will retire after 30 years in the U.S. Democrat Bobby Rush announced today he will not run for reelection in his Chicago congressional district. The only person to ever beat Barack Obama at the ballot box is leaving the political stage.
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