NIU will hold a tribute Sunday in honor of the late Chicago Mayor Harold Washington.

Michael Pattrick, tribute organizer, said the event will acknowledge that Washington’s fatal heart attack Nov. 25 “left a void in all of our lives.”

“It (the tribute) will give us a chance to show our respect for him and what he’s done,” Pattrick said.

Pattrick said Washington was a member of Phi Beta Sigma. The NIU chapter of the fraternity is sponsoring the event. The tribute, open to the public from noon to 2 p.m, will include two speakers, a performance by NIU’s Black Choir and poetry readings.

Members of all the black fraternities will attend with members of the John Lennon Society, the Black Greek Council, the Black Interhall Council and the Residence Hall Association, Pattrick said.

“People followed Mayor Washington just like people follow the North Star,” Pattrick said. “He made the road smooth for all of Chicago to follow.”

“It’s our chance to get together and show that we have a unified campus that misses Mayor Washington,” he said.

Pattrick said Black Student Union President Pam Bozeman and CHANCE counselor Martha Palmer will be the featured speakers.

Palmer said Washington “had a certain type of strength that superceded most politicians.”

“His leadership will be missed,” she said. “He had a direct impact on Chicago residents and people from the entire United States.”

Palmer said she was directly involved in Washington’s mayoral campaign. She worked to see that he was considered as a candidate for the post.