About Jabari

I am running for mayor to create a Chicago that is truly affordable, transparent, and accountable to its residents.

I was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago. I graduated from Curie High School and studied healthcare management and long-term care management at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. I later earned my graduate degree in health policy from the University of Illinois Chicago.

My family’s Chicago story began during the Great Migration. My great-grandparents moved here from Mississippi in the 1940s, like many Black families seeking better opportunities and a better life.

I was lucky to grow up in a multigenerational household. One of my earliest memories is watching my grandfather cook breakfast for me and my siblings every morning. There was always sausage, eggs, rice, and toast. On Saturdays, there were sometimes pancakes and bacon. The pancakes with the dark edges. 

When I was six, I started annoying him to let me help. Eventually, I wore him down. He let me beat the eggs, stir the batter, and stand beside him in our small kitchen in Englewood. Cooking became a special ritual between us. He always claimed he wasn’t a good cook, but the reason I make great cornbread and chili today is that I spent years watching him. Some lessons can only be passed down through family, culture, patience, and connection.

My great grandfather was born on a farm in Mississippi and left school after the eighth grade. I heard he was teased because of the clothes he wore. He later helped build the Natchez Trace Parkway, moved to Chicago, and became a union electrician. His story taught me what opportunity can make possible. A man with an eighth-grade education built a stable life, supported his family, and helped create the conditions for his grandson to earn both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree.

I lost him to nasal cancer in February 2006. I had never seen him smoke, and I can’t remember him ever going to a doctor. He spent his life helping others and was the kind of man who would give someone the clothes off his back.

When he passed, In the years that followed, my family was supported by faith, community, and the pension and benefits he earned through his union. Those protections gave my family stability during one of the toughest times in our lives.

That is why I will always defend workers, unions, pensions, healthcare, and retirement security. These are not just political issues to me. They are the reason families like mine can survive hardship and have a fair chance to move forward.

I am running as a Democratic Socialist because I believe Chicago should work for the people who keep it running: teachers, nurses, transit workers, sanitation workers, electricians, service workers, small-business owners, caregivers, artists, and working families across every neighborhood.

For the past several years, I have worked to expand opportunities for young people throughout Chicago. I have connected college students with middle-school students to help them learn about mental health, managing stress, higher education, and career planning. I have also helped build resources that connect students with programs leading to well-paying careers in healthcare and STEM.

I believe a young person’s income, ZIP code, race, or family circumstances should never determine how far they can go in life.

But I have also seen how government bureaucracy, fragmented programs, and a lack of coordination prevent families from getting the help that already exists. Too many Chicagoans spend their time navigating complicated systems instead of building stable and fulfilling lives.

I am running for mayor to remove those barriers.

I want Chicago to be a city where working families can afford to stay, seniors can retire with dignity, young people can envision a future for themselves, unions remain strong, public institutions are properly funded, and residents can clearly see how their tax dollars are being used.

Chicago gave my family a chance to build a better life. I am running to ensure the next generation has that same opportunity.