Shirley Chisholm: A Catalyst for Change Before it was Possible

Role Models
Shirley Chisholm was born today in 1924. She was the first Black woman elected to the United States Congress in 1968.

Not only was she the first black woman to gain a seat in congress, she was the first Black major-party candidate to run for the US Presidency in 1972.

Just stop a moment and think about that.....

While her run was ultimately unsuccessful, Chisholm earned 28 delegates and ensured that the face of American Presidential politics would be forever changed. "I am a candidate for the Presidency of the United States," Chisholm noted, "I make that statement proudly, in the full knowledge that, as a black person and as a female person, I do not have a chance of actually gaining that office in this election year. I make that statement seriously, knowing that my candidacy itself can change the face and future of American politics—that it will be important to the needs and hopes of every one of you—even though, in the conventional sense, I will not win."

During her political career she fought for civil rights, equal right for women, was anti-war and pro-choice. She taught at Holyoke and Spelman College (in ATL, my home town).

She passed in 2005, but not before being inducted into The National Women's Hall of Fame.

Ms. Chisholm stated: ""I want history to remember me not just as the first black woman to be elected to Congress, not as the first black woman to have made a bid for the presidency of the United States, but as a black woman who lived in the 20th century and dared to be herself."

Below is a clip from her documentary. As I watched this a was struck by the fact that many of the issues she calls for are still issues today. Also, note Walter Cronkite's wording as he introduces her:



Shirly Chisholm, Civil Rights,