Pete Rawlings grew up and lived just outside of Greater Mondawmin, but his legacy and namesake carry on in the neighborhood. Rawlings was raised in the Poe Homes in West Baltimore near Downtown and attended Frederick Douglass High School. After graduating, he studied mathematics at Morgan State, the University of Wisconsin, and the University of Maryland, where he completed his PhD. Rawlings moved to the Ashburton neighborhood, just northwest of Greater Mondawmin, and became a Professor of Mathematics at University of Maryland – Baltimore County. Rawlings joined the Maryland House of Delegates in 1979 and would serve as a State Delegate until his death in 2003. He was known for his dedication and intensity, mastery of the state budget, and commitment to improving and reforming Baltimore City Public Schools.
Rawlings left an important legacy in Baltimore. The historic Baltimore City Conservatory at the eastern end of Greater Mondawmin was renamed the Howard Peter Rawlings Conservatory in his honor. Buildings and programs at two of his alma maters, the University of Maryland and Morgan State University, carry his name. In addition, his daughter, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, served as both president of the Baltimore City Council and Mayor of Baltimore.