Oh, these Black women who escaped from the White anti-democratic trend. Thank any god you want, yet thank them first. They are the goddesses of human equality.
7
Timely that this recognition comes now when we're peaking in our elecion cycle. Every candidate presents a vision that captivates and draws support. There are so many comments here of an "instead of" nature with respect to Nixon and Reagan.
At thhe time we made those choices, the evil the world was facing was Communism in all its forms, including progressive politics. So we had Nixon (who to his credit, introduced the EPA) who did some great things but left a permanent stain on the Presidency. We had Reagan, who broke the middle class, but is still revered (after all, he broke the USSR). He left a permanent taint on government and governing - "government is the problem".
Congress is paralyzed with acrimony; the Senate in particular does the bidding of just one man and we tolerate it. I'm so saddened to think we're actually behind where we were domestically.
Our inability and unwillingness to focus on domestic priorities has led us to the domestic mess we have today. At this point, we have actual pitched battle between the Earth and us - fires, floods, droughts, and except for the ACA barely hanging on, we've moved backwards in healthcare, education and income for the middle class.
What I hope is that these celebrations re-focus us on people. The USSR/Russia and China would be fine without us, but no one is going to look out for us but us.
5
I was fortunate enough to vote for Shirley Chisholm way back in 1972. It was my first presidential election.
14
I was shocked when my husband of 25 years and I divorced (2004) to discover that my credit card limit was vastly reduced.
I called customer service, and said, "That was MY credit card, I kept my own name when we married, & he shouldn't inherit my credit."
CS replied, "We only allow one customer per card, and the husband always comes first."
2004!!
9
Shirley Chisholm was way ahead of her time. Only now, can we really appreciate her courage and grit, and only wish she was with us now when we so desperately need someone like her. The only one who comes close is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, but she, like Chisholm, is being ignored by Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic party leadership and too young to oppose Trump. At a time when the very fate of the nation requires a fierce, lion hearted woman to confront the white racist, male patriarchy of Donald Trump, we are sorely missing Shirley.
13
@Paul Wortman, Chisholm would and did work with many people of all kinds. Those who try to divide you from others opposing Trump and the republican machine are not doing any service to the nation.
8
Right On Shirley Chisholm!
There was a second woman of color presidential candidate in 1972: Hawaii congressional representative Patsy Mink, the first non-white woman and first Asian-American woman to be elected to Congress. While her presidential campaign was limited, she was only on Democratic primary ballots in several states, she deserves recognition.
She should be recognized as well for her role in writing and passing the Title IX Amendment in the same year that she ran for president.
17
“Service is the rent you pay for room on this Earth”
Shirley Chisholm
24
“Tremendous amounts of talent are lost to our society just because that talent wears a skirt.“
Shirley Chisholm
23
Throughout the ages, historians write about only two kinds of human beings, those viewed as role models or as flawed human beings who show age old and harmful behaviors, now more harmful than beneficial. It is obvious which ones make the best examples of moral courage, prescient wisdom and compassion for our children.
1
Here, here to Ms Steinhaur for focusing on the late Ms Chisholm. All the woke-ness of today pales next what Rep Chisholm did in 72. I was a 12 yr old Anglo being raised by my conservative R parents in the South and fascinated by politics (along with the other usual pursuits). Now I’m an older, conservative, semi-R who’s very glad to see Rep Chisholm’s recognition by others. History is a cool thing. Had no idea this was the 50th anniversary of her election to Congress. I knew very well however the sad fact that Sec Clinton couldn’t be prodded to evoke Ms Chisholm’s historic run when campaigning for president—Ms Chisholm faced barriers Sec Clinton never dreamed of. l disagree with Mr Rangle’s analysis that Ms Chisholm’s “new found recognition” is “fully due to this new women’s movement” of AOC and others. That’s bunk. Many who love history and politics have always given this true trailblazer her due.
6
She was great. I met her a few times when I was active in Queens politics (NDC). She was persuasive even with, in spite of, her speech impediment. She was feisty in a time when women, especially black women, were not allowed, by conventional wisdom, to be feisty.
We should celebrate her! She was a fountain of forward-looking ideas.
But, more than that, we should pass the ideas that she fought for: An end to discrimination in work and in housing, better pay for working people and healthcare for all.
10
Can't wait to see the Davis film - but someone should SERIOUSLY make a biopic of Barabra Jordan....really. Talk about a powerful woman....
15
The truth about politicians, whether they be D, R, Black, White, etc, is that the reality of the person never even comes close to the myth that tends to build up (or is purposefully built up) around them.
This goes all the way from Washington to Kennedy to Reagan to Obama.
Same is true for most every public figure, be they actors, musicians, athletes, or activists.
1
I come from a small, predominantly white conservative town. I was in high school when I first recall Shirley Chisholm on TV. Turbulent times, and here was this petite African American woman who seemed to me to be some type of amazing, quietly powerful lioness. A force to be reckoned with. Someone of poise, intelligence, and massive courage. Someone who was not white nor a man, yet in government. How could this be?
Her presence forced me to rethink SO many ideas that I once took as given truths. I have admired her all of my life.
To this very day, on the black board in my kitchen that my family sees daily, in big bold letters: “if they don’t give you a seat at the table; bring a folding chair”, Shirley Chisholm
Words to live by.
23
Why are people always looking for heroes? This is not a proper way to think if you are a grown up. Heroes are for children and if you are reading the NYT you should have grown out of that already. What is the purpose of a hero anyway? Grownups use them as projection screens where they project all of the characteristics they want to have onto a person who will do all of the work for them. I don't have to fight for women's rights, my hero will do it.
2
@Aristotle Gluteus Maximus Are you asserting that every person should be made from the same stuff, or act as if they are, whether they are or not? Clearly, we aren't all cut out to be amazing. So we admire and cheer on those who are cut out for it. Trust me, no one wants to see me trying to do any of the things heroes do.
5
Recherche du Temps Perdu: but those were the days. Shirley Chisholm, Barbara Jordan, Geraldine Ferraro?
"Can a woman be president in America?" "A minority woman?" Not likely.
I overheard a conversation on a golf course in Northern Florida recently: "No one can beat Trump. He's too powerful..."
I was fortunate to be taught about Shirley Chisholm in HS. One point in particular was that in DC she expected racism to be the more prominent and overt barrier, but she was surprised to find that sexism was more extreme, insidious, and more flippantly rationalized.
It is unfortunate that the film’s title is “Mrs. America” rather than “Ms. America” given the history of Coverture laws and practices in this country (adopted from the British who were introduced to them by the Normans’ “femme convert” (“covered woman”)). These practices turned women into the property of their husbands, removing most rights and representations for married women in America (no vote, no property ownership, no right to any money they earned, and initially no right to their own children).
The practice of renaming a woman with her husband’s name was born of Coverture customs. His name on her was his claim (much like slave owners would often attach their last name to a slave to denote ownership eg Jefferson, Washington, Winfrey).
When Barack Obama became the first black male president, the irony could not be lost when he did not introduce his wife as Ms. Michelle Robinson, but as Mrs. Barack Obama -his covered woman.
It is a wonderful thing that Chisholm and her groundbreaking and fearless work is finally getting the attention it deserves.One can only hope that some day girls, of all ethnicities, will be taught that their own name has value and no rationalization should make them throw it away.
50
SHIRLEY THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU GAVE - A TRUE AMERICAN HERO. A WOMAN AHEAD OF HER TIME, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
8
I was only 6, growing up in the middle of farm country, but I remember seeing and hearing this remarkable woman on television. I fell in love at once and wanted a president like this.
I am still waiting.
17
To quote the immortal Biz Markie: Reagan is the prez but I voted for Shirley Chisholm.
7
Saw her speak at Boston University, Spring of 1971 (I was a freshman), and she was eeeeelectric! Wanted to sign up then and there for whatever cause she was backing.
4
Ms. Chisholm taught me as a youngster that being of service is a responsibility I have to this world as an inhabitant. I have often fantasized about tattooing “service” on my wrist; perhaps 2019 is the year to do it.
4
It is important that we remember the pioneering spirit of the late US Rep. Chisholm. Former US Rep. Rangel is correct in noting that the seminal contributions of such important people are not recognized during their lifetimes.
5
Since I was mentioned in the article, please read Shirley Chisholm: Catalyst for Change, Westview Press, 2013. kindle as well as paperback, by Barbara Winslow, and please checkout the Shirley Chisholm Project of Brooklyn Women's Activism, also mentioned in the article: chisholmproject.com
7
Too bad President Obama didn't use her as a lodestar when he was in office. We might not have Trump there right now had he paid attention to the causes and people she fought for.
3
It takes a long time to be recognized for heroic work in the face of discrimination. Shirley faced two kinds of discrimination. One, she was black. Two, she was a woman. And what a woman she was.
Two courageous acts all because of the chances she was willing to run, in spite of the discrimination she faced as a black woman and the voters were willing to give her a chance. She never disappointed them.
Imagine if she had had the backing of the DNC, she just might have been President.
12
When Shirley announced for president the only folks who didn’t think she was crazy was those of us who lived on the 1000 Block of Brooklyn’s St. John’s Place! There, long before her announcement, even though small in stature, her God-given presence was such that “Mr. Shirley” was the name us young folks on the block used when referring to her far more physically imposing husband, behind his back of course!
4
Shirley Chisholm was Barak Obama before we ever heard of Obama. Her constituents knew she was for working people.
Unfortunatly he arrievd to eary to the party. I'm glad she is getting her recognition from all Americans I'm sadend she's No longer with us to celebrate it.
6
@frank monaco
I'm sure there are comparisons between her and our great former President , however what sticks in my mind are the differences . President Obama was a President who happened to be black not a Black President . Chisholm was a Black Congresswoman and Presidential Candidate devoted to improving the lives of Blacks , the poor, and women specifically .
President Obama did not devote himself to issues that were of special concern to those groups which is a conundrum for the opposition opposed him fearing an agenda that would help Blacks especially and he avoided doing that .
Check out a more local (NYC-based) artist's take on this remarkable historical figure, Unbossed and Unbowed:
https://www.facebook.com/unbossedunbowed/?ref=py_c
Why no mention of her famous quote about facing far more discrimination as a woman than as a black?
Too insidious a notion for those filling out intersectionality score cards?
5
Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm and Barbara Jordon were a part of what made America great in the late 1960s to early 1980s. Liberal, classy and committed non populist politicians and high charactor role models. Their's was a straight and steady revolution for equality that has never been defeated or ended.
17
Next time you're in Buffalo go to Forest Lawn and place a flower on her grave.
A precursor to Bernie Sanders.
2
The most loyal and long suffering liberal progressive base of the Democratic Party is and always has been black African American Christian females.
Black women are taken for granted by condescending paternalistic liberal white European American Judeo-Christian pity and condescending paternalistic conservative white European American Judeo-Christian contempt.
White liberals presume their allied empathy with black liberals. White conservatives presume their antipathy with black liberals.
Neither liberals nor conservatives accept their individual accountable diverse humanity. Black women are expected to be grateful, invisible and silent. Black women are doubly bedeviled by their color aka race and their gender aka misogyny and patriarchy.
In the beginning was Sallie Hemmings. In the middle was Harriet Tubman and Ida B. Wells.
And the last 50 years and the next 50 years belongs to black African American women like Shirley Chisholm and Carol Moseley- Braun, Robin Kelly, Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar, Maxine Waters and Alexandra Ocasio- Cortez.
5
@Blackmamba
Leave off the xtian and you might have something there.
1
For some reason, it is burned into my skull--the radio was on in the kitchen of our home in White Swan, WA. Over the radio came a news report about the first black woman presidential candidate when Shirley's voice told us that yes, she had decided to "throw my hat in the ring." I was 8 years old.
7
"We always wait until somebody dies to do what we wish we had done while they were alive.”
If we could only learn deep down that it is over before you know it. Buddhist philosophy has been advocating this for 2,500 years.
3
@A Goldstein I agree with your sentiments. But when Shirley Chisholm was alive she was a genuine threat to the status quo. Now safely ensconced in the after life she can be appreciated and even venerated by all who were terrified of her courage,intellect and ideas. None of the current Presidential candidates running today can hold a candle to her.
6
While I was a graduate student at Harvard from 1983-1989 (having moved from Montreal), I began to take passing interest in US politics. I remember watching bits and pieces from one Democratic convention - and watching Shirley Chisholm for the first time. She was electrifying, captivating, with a strong moral compass. I have never forgotten her presence - broadcast on my tiny dorm-room tv screen. To me - she represents all that is good in politics: principled, compassionate, and dedicated. This is what our politics can be. What our politicians should be. Thank you Ms. Chisholm for your service and inspiration.
9
Proud to say that when she ran for President I was an alternate delegate to the Democratic Convention for her. I feel really good about that.
16
Thank you for this article. I was too young, too white, too West Coast and perhaps too male to be aware of her other than merely as a name in the U.S. Congress in that era. The photos accompanying this article demonstrate her firm grasp of how visual we are as a species. Shirley Chisholm really understood how important it is to be seen in order to be heard.
3
Much gratitude to Shirley Chisholm who gave the commencement speech @ my graduation from Pratt Institute in 1972, a tumultuous time in NYC and the nation. She challenged us to be brave and mindful, to make a difference and to break from the status quo.
Namaste.
3
She was an inspiration fifty years ago and is an inspiration today. Barbara Jordan also deserves to be better remembered.
9
I was 12 in 1972 when Shirley Chisholm ran for president. Both she and Barbara Jordan left indelible marks on many of us at our young age.
As a young Black girl living in small-town Ohio, I figured she wouldn't win, but to have the tenacity to run? Unbossed indeed! Inspiring then and now.
9
not old enough to vote at the time but I do recall Shirley Chisholm election to congress and her run for the presidency - she received alot of attention at the time not because of her colour but because she was smart, articulate and had an original view (and look) that she explained (and wore) clearly. Her run for the Presidency was about visibility for women of colour and while she knew winning was not an option her view of "if not me, who? if not now, when?" certainly cemented her status with me and I am pleased she is finally getting the wider recognition she deserves.
6
Shirley Chisholm spoke truth and the respect she gained and deserved was because of that. Truth seems easy but to speak it and not back down is call courage and this lady had it tenfold.
7
My husband, off the bus from San Diego and new to New York City in 1969, voted for Shirley Chisholm—the first vote he cast in a presidential election.
I am looking forward to learning more about her. She was way ahead of her time.
8
I was in 5th grade when Shirley Chisholm ran for president. I knew then in an non-articulated way that she was way before her time -- a woman and a woman of color -- running for president when I was also seeing such people as Richard Nixon and George McGovern on the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkeit. How different -- and probably much better -- our world would be today if she had had more influence in her political career.
7
Shirley and her husband owned a house down the street from me in Buffalo NY. Nobody seemed to know who she was and she lived a quiet life when she was there. I only knew her as the one that came in a taxi (no one used taxis in my town) and she also stood out because she was black in a very white neighborhood (and had a beautiful house). I went trick or treating at her house- she hadn’t expected trick-or-treaters, she found some bags of nuts and gave it to us. If only I knew and appreciated her when she was living there.
12
Smart, witty, visionary. Brave and heroic. Shirley Chisholm and Barbara Jordan were my first two models of black women in charge.
26
While we are on the subject of American heroes, those who have made an immense contribution to the commonweal like the much regretted , late Congresswoman Chisholm, we should not overlook the crusading efforts of Frank "Sonny" Carson, another educational reformer unfairly maligned in his heyday, 1960's, by those who accused him of being anti Semitic, which he was not. Attended a memorial service in his honor in 2002 held in a high school auditorium on Herkimer Street in Brooklyn, and it was a touching, poignant experience.Sonny Carson belongs in the same pantheon of heroes, crusaders for human rights as his contemporary, Congresswoman Chisholm. We miss them both.
3
"...She also formed a genuine friendship with a presidential opponent, George Wallace, the former pro-segregationist governor of Alabama, and visited him in the hospital after he was shot." And today the Left butchers Mayor Pete and Joe Biden.
10
Shirley Chisholm was the speaker at my fancy college graduation ceremony. The woman on the Board of the college preceded her talk with the idea that being a graduate of this college had a long term advantage, for example, one would meet other alums all over the world, just like she had while cruising in her yacht in the Caribbean. Chisholm then spoke to us in a speech about how we, as graduates of an elite school had a responsibility to use our education to make the world a better place for all people as we had been privileged to an excellent education. This experience never left me and was instrumental in my ultimate choice of career. She is my hero.
28
Thank you for a great article. Like me, most white women I know “of that certain age” call Ms Chisholm their political hero and role model. We remember her fondly and try to honor her memory with our activism.
12
I was ten years old in 1972 and remember Ms. Chisholm's candidacy for president. Wow, what a true hero.
9
Back when Shirley Chisholm was running for president I was a freshman in college. I had a poster of her on my dorm room door and I am proud to say that I voted for her the very first time I cast my ballot. What a different world it would be if she had become our president rather than Richard Nixon.
149
@LCF
One summer I had high school working papers at a daycare center in Harlem, during my lunch hour I went to Ms. Chisholm's offices every chance I had. To listen to individuals who knew the issues and were striving to make the country a better and more inclusive place for all. She was a beautiful woman inside and out .What a political/ caring genius she was.
The world would be such a different place if the rest of our politicians truly understood what it means to be a public servant. To be a leader not a talker
, to mobilize people . Few of our politicians can carry the mantel of a political genius and be worthy of the title. I miss the ideology she stood for and I am delighted that finally Ms. Chisholm is getting the recognition that she so deserves. Ms. Chisholm was a leader before all of these so called woke persons were woke. Ms. Chisholm gave up her life in service of this country not for a news cycle.
42
@LCF My mother, of blessed memory, voted for Shirley Chisholm in the Illinois presidential primary! If Mom were still alive she would be THRILLED with this recognition of Rep. Chisholm. I'm thrilled myself!
21
Shirley Chislom inspired me with her courage and tenacity. I was a white high school kid when she ran for President. Today their are many more role models but in 1972 there weren’t as many. My mother suggested her as someone to look up to when looking for strong women role models. I admired Shirley her whole life. When met with things I thought I could not do as a woman, she was one of the strong woman I thought of. Learning about her also taught me that women have much more in common than their race. She set a good example for all and still continues to do so.
93
As a white girl growing up in Appalachia, I was inspired by Shirley Chisholm. I was about 12 when she was elected to the House, and the immediate political fights I was facing had to do with girls being required to take home economics while boys took science, and a dress code that required girls to wear dresses. That is how far ahead of her time she was.
Shirley Chisholm taught me not to sit down and shut up. I don't know how tall she was, but my visual memories of her on the news are that she was a slight woman surrounded by physically larger men whose presence she dwarfed. I felt that as the first black woman to be elected to Congress she had opened a million doors of opportunity. It made me want to work hard to be whatever first I could be. (On the small scale of my unremarkable life, that was to be the first girl in my high school elected student body president, and the first person on my father's side of the family to go to college.)
I had no idea then how hard progress would be. I was demoralized when Reagan was elected in 1980, wept with joy when Obama won, and now … this vile piece of male privilege who isn't fit to shine Shirley Chisholm's shoes.
When I've mentioned Shirley Chisholm over the years, no one has seemed to remember her. It's good to hear that she is getting some overdue respect. As welcome as a Viola Davis biopic is, I hope we can fine more powerful ways to honor her memory at the polls in 2020.
205
@C Wolfe I would remember.
7
@C Wolfe We honor Shirley Chisolm by actively getting out the vote in our communities for Democrats - up and down the ticket - in November 2020.
Why? because of voter suppression by Republicans and other deeply unfair, undemocratic practices by Republicans, it's going to take every single effort to win the next election.
New documentary on lawyer who helped create a world where Mr. Trump thrives - worth a look to see SYSTEMIC problems Democrats must successfully address:
https://deadline.com/2018/09/roy-cohn-donald-trump-documentary-where-is-my-roy-cohn-toronto-1202461497/
10
@C Wolfe
So well said and so appreciated. Thank you.
9
I’m a woman, but Oliver is my cat’s name. I still have my Shirley Chisholm campaign button from when I was in high school. I just missed voting but did some work for her and McGovern. I remember talking to women who I babysat for telling me how lucky we younger women were. It was hard for me to understand at the time what they were talking about but they were cheering us on. So much was happening. It was a very, very exciting time to be a young woman.
118
@Oliver
Rampant sexism. Gender as the primary voting criteria, no wonder we are where we are as a nation.
5
Who, yes, it was rampant. Women chased around desks by bosses and everyone laughed. Men were incapable of raping their wives because if she was your wife, it wasn't rape. A girl doctor? Unnatural. A woman minister? Against God's holy will. And much more. Then the changes started, still going on. Being a progressive isn't about today's paper alone, or categories of demographics alone. It's a process spanning many generations, and sometimes we lose as well as win. We go on welcoming new people, teaching, learning, daring, accepting that those of good will can work together even when we disagree on how sometimes. We have traveled a long way now. And a long way to go. Together.
60
@Who Yeah, no wonder: The Man Who Hatched Trump: Buyers View ‘Where Is My Roy Cohn?’
https://deadline.com/2018/09/roy-cohn-donald-trump-documentary-where-is-my-roy-cohn-toronto-1202461497/
3
I was honored to have the opportunity to donate $5 to a collection for the purpose of putting Ms. Chisholm on the Presidential ballot in New Mexico way back then. I am happy to hear that she is being remembered this year.
123
In 1972 I walked the streets of Los Angeles, knocking on doors, as I sought people that would allow me to ask a few questions. I was a public opinion pollster. I asked people about pampers, plane flights, automobile preference...and, of course, in '72 I asked lots and lots of questions about voter choice.
At the time I didn't know it would be the best job of my life. It took decades for me to figure out the people I met during that time--walking door to door--would shape my mind, broaden my perspective in a way no other job experience ever has.
Almost 50 years later the people I met creep into my memory at the most unlikely moments.
The young woman that introduced me to Shirley Chisholm was white, a hippie living pretty much down and out in a rough neighborhood. I approached her porch and she stepped out the door. She obviously knew what I was doing. (that was often the case: one neighbor would call the next to alert them to the guy walking the street) She boldly stepped toward me and said, "I'm voting for Shirley Chisholm. She is black, female, and speaks with a lisp!"
She was great. She spent a good half hour convincing me i should vote for Shirley too, which I did. Sometimes, even, after she passed away, I tell people i will vote for Shirley. They don't know what I am talking about and I savor a secret knowledge.
Don't know what happened to that hippie gal, but i hope she is around to see Shirley have her day. Both women were way ahead of their time.
195
@michael absolutely wonderfully written. Thank you!
44
@michael
Great story and maybe a balm to my own experience as a census taker in 2010.
How so?
Single white women were the hardest constituency to get to answer my census questions. With rare exception they refused to talk to me.
They were even less responsive than Latinos whom I suspected were undocumented.
5
She was the first person to get me interested in politics. She showed that it didn't have to belong to the elite, but could represent people like me. (I'm neither blonde nor a guy.) All of us owe her a pack of gratitude.
138
@Blonde Guy
I was blonde and a guy. Actually a boy from Little Rock, Arkansas when she ran for President. She was, and still is, the politician I hold in the highest regard. I was able to meet her in the 80s. Shook her hand. Lucky me.
31
I will always respect her for many reasons but I will never forget when she said "I have certainly met much more discrimination in terms of being a woman than being black". She was talking about politics specifically, but I always felt she was also talking about life. World would have been very different if she had become president in 1972
201
Yes, Shirley Chisolm was alone - except for all the people who loved her passion and clarity of mind on all the issues.
She was never "forgotten".
But how great is it to see a female leader, a woman of color, being recognized again.
Her legacy lives on.
8
Shirley Chisholm was a figure well worth emulating by today's young congresswomen. Actually, congressmen as well.
7
Shirley Chisholm was one of the few heroes I have had in life right up there with Malcolm X , Martin Luther King , Muhammad Ali , and Jim Brown all courageous African Americans who risked death , risked their families and careers to fight oppression and discrimination .
The article fails to note that she was indeed recognized as a hero by African Americans and the notion that she did not get the notoriety she deserved in larger America and therefore history is no different from other Black Geniuses and Black Achievement , and Black heroes ignored and limited by the White Men and Wealthy Men also White who write and decide what's credible in America .
I grew up in Crown Heights Brooklyn not far from Restoration Plaza that the Kennedy's christened and she had her office in . I interviewed her for my college paper at Fordham University and had a hard time being objective with someone I admired so much .
It must also be noted that her slogan " Unbought and Unbossed " were not just words but describe the honest and singular fighter for the people she was instead of the typical politician who prostitutes themselves to the highest bidder.
Shirley Chisholm was an American crusader for the poor, for women , for Blacks and all Americans and shame on the Women's Movement for not supporting their strongest crusader because of the color of her skin .
18
"If they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair." Shirley Chisholm
33
Kamala Harris writes in her book, The Truths We Hold, that in 1971 Congresswoman Chisholm visited Rainbow Sign, a black-run cultural center in Harris's hometown of Oakland. "Talk about strength! 'Unbought and Unbossed,' just as her campaign slogan promised," Harris wrote. Harris, a black woman running for president, calls Chisholm her political role model. For that not to be in the article is a strange oversight.
8
@Cecil Harris
Shirley worked with George Wallace to get things done. Would Harris have attacked her for that today as she attacked Biden?
3
Unbossed!
4
As a reporter, I witnessed first hand the lack of respect for her. I raised this issue with then presidential candidate Walter Mondale. I asked about his response to Congresswoman Chisholm's lack of endorsement as a failure on his part to reach the black community. He dismissed the question. No candidate today can do that.
7
At 26, I was a proud Shirley Chisholm delegate to the Minnesota State DFL Convention. She inspired me by her confidence that she could say “I am Black, I am a woman, and I am running for President of the United states of America!” Societies change slowly but they wouldn’t change at all were it not for the courage of people like Shirley Chisholm!
17
Shirley Chisholm spoke at Oberlin College sometime in the early 1980s when I was a student there. Unforgettable. Her oratory was powerful, as was her presence. She packed a punch, for sure.
16
I would like to hear about the programs that she made happen. Someone who is super smart and a pioneer but makes nothing happen is someone who is forgotten.
2
@anonymouse
Anymouse's comment is quite ignorant and offensive for this courageous and honest woman devoted her whole life to helping her community , helping the poor , helping women and then wanted to help all Americans by running for President .
Her campaign slogan was not mere words , but also identified this honest politician having the singular goal of helping the people instead of selling out to the highest bidder that politicians are famous for .
The libelous suggestion about making nothing happen that was liked by the way ignores everything she did and certainly ignores the racism , and sexism that she battled her whole life that was mentioned in the article for people who are ignorant of racism and sexism .
She is being honored for a reason .
20
@anonymouse There isn't enough space here, but take a look at her Wikipedia page. She focused mostly on bills that would help her constituents: food stamps, WIC, health care, education.
17
@anonymouse
by definition 'pioneers' makes things happen - they lead the way and clear a path for those who come after them. just by standing up, stepping forward, and speaking out shirley chisholm did much we can be grateful for.
7
I wholeheartedly agree that Chisholm seems poised to be a cultural touchstone—finally—in 2019. Though, I wish, in light of the current administration’s immigration policies that the article had also mentioned her foundational life experiences in Barbados, as well as her lifelong connections to the Caribbean and immigrant communities and issues. The truck with the bullhorn is a staple of Caribbean political organizing.
23
@Nicole
It's a bit of a stretch to say they were friends. Wallace admired her for he thought she was the only politician running in 72, aside from himself, who spoke the truth. Wallace was touched when she came to visit, and by the way, she was denounced for visiting him. And another by the way, NONE of the white politicians running in 72 were denounced for visiting Wallace. Chisholm had to work with wretched racist politicians all the time. She never praised or admired them
5
@Nicole
Yes, I was also wondering the same thing. Chisholm’s West Indian heritage was ignored.
2
A small story about Shirley Chisholm. I worked for a Member of Congress who served with Chisholm. Chisholm took a trip to the South and came back and gave an impassioned speech about how many hungry children she had seen. My boss went over to Shirley and asked her where the children were, that my boss knew Father Yanitelli, head of Catholic Relief, and my boss would call him immediately to get help to these hungry children. Shirley said she'd "get back to her". Never did even though my boss called Shirley, wrote to her, asked her again several times on the House floor. Nothing. The speech was a big phony. Of course there was hunger but Shirley hadn't seen it. Just a talking point in her speech.
4
@Bob - such an empty talking point that she worked with Bob Dole on expanding food stamps and creating WIC.
Chisholm was assigned to the House Agricultural Committee. Given her urban district, she felt the placement was irrelevant to her constituents.[2] When Chisholm confided to Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson that she was upset and insulted by her assignment, Schneerson suggested that she use the surplus food to help the poor and hungry. Chisholm subsequently met Robert Dole, and worked to expand the food stamp program. She later played a critical role in the creation of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program. Chisholm would credit Schneerson for the fact that so many "poor babies [now] have milk and poor children have food".[29] Telushkin, Joseph (2014). Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History. HarperCollins. pp. 13–14.
12
@Bob
I've been reading all the responses from readers of the article about Shirley Chisholm. So far, 100% have vouched for Chisholm's integrity.
Your article feels like a "red herring." It just doesn't make sense given all the testimonials about her. So, I'm feeling very suspicious of your purpose and the goal of your post.
2
I do not disagree that Shirley Chisholm was a trailblazer and she deserves all the praise due her. But In mentioning her friendship with George Wallace, no one seems to attack her for it in the way Biden has been attacked for simply working across the aisle with segregationists. He did not have a friendship with them. Is there a difference?
27
@MLE53
The difference is that Kamala Harris isn't attacking her - with the media applauding wildly.
8
I think the difference is that Wallace made it clear he thought ALL Black people were inferior to whites. Shirley Chisholm could be quite certain he thought she was inferior and perhaps even hated her “kind”. For an African American to extend the hand of friendship to someone who was racist said much about her character. Biden, on the other hand, was an “equal” to those segregationists. While I personally think it’s important for legislators to stay open to negotiating — even with haters — Biden takes for granted we all think he’s a great fellow. He benefitted greatly from his status as a White, privileged male, just as those segregationist legislators did. Hard to see the sacrifice there.
13
@MLE53
check the details, but i think a significant difference is that wallace reformed himself and denounced racial segregation whereas eastland et al were unrepentant racists. also biden worked with racists to oppose racial integration efforts at the federal level and now in typcal biden fashion has stuck his foot in his mouth in trying to justify it.
14
Never, did I hear or read what Rep. Chilsom said that I did not agree totally and found to be a marvel of clarity. Yet, I failed to do anything for her. To read this to realize my loss, which speaks so poorly of me. Right on please she was the very best. Bill
7
She was an amazing individual. AOC and her tribe of miscreants should try to emulate Shirley Chisholm and perhaps people might take them seriously. The same could be said of the current Democrats seeking to unseat Trump.
6
@George
Really George: Times and methodologies change. Even MLK's words evolved- becoming down-right radical toward the end of his life.
Wallace was an avowed racist- with Manners. I can only imagine what Trump and various GOP henchmen (or Ann Coulter, Sarah Sanders...)would have called her in 2019: She did- after all, wear a wig and glasses. What do you think he would have done with those?
By-the-way: "Tribe" is outdated.
3
Naively I sent out a chain email to all my contacts asking them to endorse it and send it out to all their contacts. It was a pitch to create a groundswell of support for a Presidential - Vice Presidential ticket of Shirley Chisholm and Carl Sagan. The world just isn't ready to get behind the people who have the solutions.
12
I disliked her far less than I disliked Bella Abzug, and I respected her far more.
She comported herself with dignity, unlike the caricature called Maxine Waters, a/k/a Aunt Esther.
4
@J.Jones. Any powerful women you do like?
8
I remember her well and had assumed it marked the beginning of women and minorities in high places. Oh, how I was wrong! Iam happy, however, that it appears the tides have finally shifted.
I'm also happy (and I recognize I digress) that Senator Harris wasn't mentioned in your article because I personally am offended by how shamelessly she invokes Shirley Chisholm's name as if she, herself, is a bonafide Black American.
While Harris certainly qualifies as a mixed race, I don't understand how she can claim she's a Black American (a group clearly defined as having African and slave descendants) any more (and arguably less) than Warren claiming she's a Native American.
This duplicity is something I believe Shirley Chisholm would also have found wholly distasteful.
2
@Concerned American
here is a true story. an african scholar visiting nyc wanted to see black neighborhoods. after a tour of harlem he remarked "thank you for showing me your arab neighborhood" because the skin tones and features of many african americans display their mixed racial heritage in ways which this black african associated with north africans and arabs.
ca, why do minorities apply standards of racial purity just as racists impose standards of racial purity on them?
3
@Concerned American: You say that the group is "clearly defined" as such, but who has the authority to define it? Doesn't Harris, as a Black American, have the authority to say what that group is that she belongs to?
2
@Concerned American
Shirley Chisholm was *also* a proud West Indian American as her parents immigrated to the U.S. from the Caribbean. In the same way that so many identified and identifying as Black Americans (or African Americans ) from Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Turé) to Yvette Clarke to Biggie Smalls to Malcolm X to Frederica S. Wilson to Lester Holt and many others have Caribbean roots on one or both sides, Kamala Harris identifying and being identified as Black American is *hardly* unusual.
3
We stand on the shoulders of giants like Senator Chisholm who didn't need to be 7 feet tall to be one.
Not sure how Chisholm's most quoted line isn't noted here. One sentence that embeds her philosophy so succinctly-- "If they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair."
Persistence in the face of opposition, ignorance or belittlement, with a wry humor.
May her statue present her as the giant she was.
28
I was 17 when she ran for president. I was so upset that I couldn't cast my first presidential vote for her. Her legacy inspires me to this day. Unbought and unbossed.
14
This remarkable person taught us so very much. She taught me, a young white guy with privilege and little understanding of the world, what it meant to be left out. She showed us a whole new way of looking at each other. It was a joke that condensed the experience. "Ms. Chisholm was called to heaven for an interview with God. Upon her return the first question was, 'What is God like?' She answered, 'There is one surprise - She is black.'"
12
1972. Another year Democrats lost big. After 1968. Just like 2020 will be.
Americans do not like Liberals because we are smart. Right wingers don't like me, even as I hide my politics. Right wingers are mean and cruel. Ever talk to any? Sure they could be compassionate for a cause, but in general they are mean and cruel people. It is very sad that humanity is so ignorant it has yet to expunge cruelty and cruel people, but rather elevates cruelty and cruel people.
7
I'd vote for Shirley Chisholm on the twenty dollar bill.
15
I will never forget her black, feminine face as a tonic to the white, male dominated world I grew up in. She was for me the future, courageous, and like nothing I had seen before. I still don't understand how the barriers she broke don't speak, but always hope will do so for the majority of our great nation
7
At least one newly elected Member of Congress has this portrait of Chisholm painted by contemporary artist Rhonda Brown hanging in her Capitol Hill office. https://www.instagram.com/p/By0p2o9JXYf/
10
It apparently now is safe to recognize and praise Shirley Chisholm, 14 years after her death and nearly 4 years after the country elected a white, racist with no political experience and a scandal-ridden history of failures in business.
Congresswoman Chisholm ran for president in 1972 at a time when many white, male Democrats were running to keep Hubert Humphrey off the ticket.
They all simply withdrew during the primary season or were eliminated at the convention in favor of the largely symbolic, single-issue candidacy of Senator George McGovern of South Dakota. None of the men withdrawing threw their support to Ms. Chisholm, although several did announce for McGovern.
The fact that Chisholm was black and female undoubtedly made her off limits to white men who were busily seeking a replacement for Lyndon Johnson, the white man who championed the civil rights legislation sought by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
We, the white progressives who were adults in 1972, owe a debt to the amazing Shirley Chisholm and an apology for our hypocrisy.
16
Shirley worked with George Wallace, and they were friends. Joe Biden is not allowed to work across the aisle to accomplish good legislation. Paging Kamala Hattis....hiprocacy
10
@NYer in WI
Shirley / George dynamics, she did not gown over him; Joe has not either but his fund memories did distinctly say that he ignored the racist aspects of his peers Shirley never forgot, ignored or thought George any different than what he was. Don't blame Harris for stating the obvious/
Biden I think spoke fondly of the time, finding common ground, and a Tip/Ronnie era that is no longer existent.
Unlike many of today's politicians of all races, Shirley Chisholm was a person of principle, integrity and formidable intellect. She was indeed, unbought and unbossed!
10
I remember many things about her:
1) Unlike many black pols who seem to be first and foremost black candidates, and unlike many female pols who are first and foremost women pols, she seemed like someone who truly wanted to help all people who were deserving of attention. I am a white male, and although I am wary of many black and female pols, fearing that they would disregard me because I am white and male, I was always receptive to Chisolm.
2) She was exceedingly brilliant and was reputed to have scored in the genius range on an IQ test.
3) I remember her bold defense of gay rights at a forum in the 1972 presidential race. When she was asked about gay rights, some people laughed, viewing the idea as preposterous. She snapped at the person who had laughed and delivered a bold and fierce defense of homosexual rights.
26
"(In a twist, she also formed a genuine friendship with a presidential opponent, George Wallace, the former pro-segregationist governor of Alabama, and visited him in the hospital after he was shot.)"
I guess by Kamala Harris's contemporary, woke standards, Shirley Chisholm is a traitor to her people and her cause and they should be cancelling that monument. But of course there's a good reason savvy, cynical establishment politicians like Harris go out of their way to demonize the other side and cast them as incorrigible and irredeemable. Because it makes compromise impossible, which only preserves the globalist, corporatist status quo and the anti-egalitarian trajectory we're on.
Same for Harris's nebulous, ever-shifting, pie-in-the-sky, unattainable "plan" for Medicare for All, which is the perfect vehicle to suck the oxygen away from difficult and pragmatic plans like the public option and weaning us off employer-sponsored health insurance.
Same for preserving the Senate filibuster, about which Harris told an Iowa voter, "Let's change the subject!"
Kamala Harris may be the Democratic presidential candidate who most superficially resembles Chisholm. But if Harris, with her record, should ever utter Chisholm's name in vain at a debate, I hope some old-timer like Biden or Bernie comes right back, "I knew Shirley Chisholm, I worked with Shirley Chisholm, and Ms. Harris, you are no Shirley Chisholm."
9
Women in history are often erased and forgotten, particularly women of color. I was asked years ago why we needed a women’s history course. This is why.
I can’t wait to see Ms. Davis’ film.
24
I met Mrss Chisholm at the Miami Marriott in 72 while I was working and she a Presidential candidate. I knew Mrss Chisholm from television and her position on race and and poverty. She was a very pleasant women without the harsh rhetoric one finds with someone who doesn't know the issues. She didn't have a large contingent following her in fact she was alone. We spoke about how the Cubans came in the 60s and now controlled politics in Miami while blacks having been there since the 1600 were living in poverty.
15
Instead of raising money to create statues dedicated to Rep. Chisholm, let’s use those funds and energy to finally get the Equal Rights Amendment passed. I believe that this achievement would be a great testimony to the life, works and impact on America of Rep. Chisholm.
14
Shirley Chisholm spoke at my college graduation. Construction workers nearby dramatically upped the level of noise, but nothing could drown out her eloquent voice.
28
I was fortunate to attend a party in Shirley's honor, when she was running for President. It was a defining moment in my life.
This article reminds me of how long the fight has been going on, and how long it must continue. Never give in, and never give up.
37
Shirley Chisholm was the subject of an oral report given by a fellow fifth grade student, Portia Aiken, at PS 44 in Brooklyn. I do not remember the substance of what she read to us, but all these years later I can still hear her saying the name "Shirley Chisholm" in a political context. It was the mid 1960s. I am proud to say Ms. Chisholm represented the place where I then lived.
14
An excellent documentary film about Shirley Chisholm, Unbought and Unbossed, was made in 2004, a year before she died, and is on Amazon. The main focus is her 1972 campaign. The woman was astute.
24
As a college student I went to a small rally to hear her speak. She was impressive. I am happy she is getting the recognition she deserves—wish such would have happened when she was living.
11
I remember Shirley Chisholm’s voice, which conveyed her confidence.
Barbara Jordan was another remarkable presence at about the same time.
41
Recognition of Shirley Chisholm is long overdue. I was living in New York City at age 21, and the first vote I ever cast was for Shirley Chisholm. Long may she be honored!
28
Great piece. And may 2020--the 100th anniversary of her birth--be the year of now-neglected Bella Abzug, Chisholm's Congressional colleague and co-conspirator. As I often say, "If you like Ruth Bader Ginsburg, you'll love Bella Abzug!"
35
I lived down the from Rep Chisholm
Upon request from my daughter Mrs Chisholm sent her a flag which had flown over the Capital
Shirley Chisholm was a hero to lots of young African American girls who felt that they too could accomplish their dreams thanks to her boldness and faith in herself and the ideals she put forth
45
I remember that election. There were I think 11 Democrats on the ballot. I voted for Shirley. I did not think she had a chance of becoming prez, but I wanted her to get a good number of votes. I thought it would send a message.
I also thought it was crazy that the Dems had wound up at the end with 11 candidates.
24
I remember Ms. Chisholm as the tonic to the white, male dominated world I grew up in. She was courageous, Black, and the feminist face of the future. I hope she is recognized as a trailblazer, patriot, and feminist giant of our great country she is.
67
@Luke
Another feminist who served in congress before Rep. Chisholm was Bella Abzug.
They, and their colleagues in the fight for passage of the ERA, helped mold the convictions of a then young white suburban midwestern girl. And I'm eternally grateful to them.
3
I am proud to say that I voted for her when she ran for president, and not McGovern.
34
@Marilyn Montgomery
Great, but McGovern was also a good choice for President.
3
Even as a young boy in the 1960s I realized Shirley Chisholm was someone special. I couldn't say exactly what it was or why I felt she was special but I new it in a very profound way. I'm glad after all this time that she is finally getting the attention she deserves. History has a way of forgetting or never embracing many of the true heroes of our past. I hope young people realize the importance of Shirley Chisholm.
57
@Magan I too (from Queens at the time) felt the same way about her as you. I can say the same thing for Bella Abzug. I thought she was tremendous.
5
Shirley Chisholm was Bernie Sanders before there was a Bernie Sanders in Congress. She was Elizabeth Warren before there was Elizabeth Warren fighting for working people, and they should both be grateful she paved the way for them as well as people of color, because they all benefited from her work before them
92
@Scott
No before Shirley Chisholm there was Senator Robert Wagner who in the 1930s proposed a national health insurance plan and also managed Social Security through the Senate.
And there was socialist named Norman Thomas who ran for president and from whom FDR said he took many of the New Deal programs.
And in her class of 1968 elected to the House was another representative from New York, a fellow named Allard Lowenstein who got Eugene McCarthy to challenge LBJ for the presidential nomination when no other Dem would do so (Lowenstein tried to get Bobby Kennedy to run first but he refused).
10
Shirley Chisholm was a pragmatic politician who found it possible to cross not just a Congressional aisle but a yawning chasm to have a dialog with segregationist George Wallace.
I don’t believe she would have supported the Democrats’ current wild swing to the far left. In the recent debates and their follow-on comments we have heard presidential candidates offering a wide range of “progressive” (socialist) promises:
Free college tuition. Medicare for all, including illegal immigrants. College loan forgiveness. Reparations for blacks and gays. Guaranteed basic income. Federal job guarantees. Federally mandated school busing to achieve integration. Voting rights for prisoners. Open borders.
All of the fabulously wealthy US individuals and corporations together do not have the many trillions of dollars needed to pay for these goodies year after year, and even socialist Bernie Sanders has admitted that taxes would have to be raised on the middle class to pay for just one or two of the give-always noted above. Shirley Chisholm was too smart and too experienced to believe that America could ever be transformed into a socialist country in one election cycle, or even several.
Chisholm understood, as Margaret Thatcher aptly noted, that the problem with socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other people’s money.
If even a few of these “progressive” Democratic promises are planks in the 2020 Democratic platform we are doomed to a second term of Trump as President.
4
@Mon Ray
I disagree. She would have welcomed programs like these that gave the poor a leg up when they have suffered under stagnant wages, and politicians that dont care. You can not write revisionist history about someone who championed working people so diligently and authentically.
39
@Mon Ray
The many of trillions of dollars are there. Unfortunately they reside in the wealth of the 1%. If health care, environmental stewardship,and education are designed to support the 100% we will not need other peoples' money, it is ours.
36
@Mon Ray "Wild swing to the left" is code for the status quo. It goes along with "incrementalism" and "being practical". This is a legacy that opposed all trends towards more universal human progress. Trillions are spent on wars and an uneven tax structure. More is wasted on subsidies that help few Americans.
Taxpayers are spending two thirds on health care now by paying for Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, the VA, government workers on all levels, and tax subsidies on employer plans. On that score, employers, 1 in 5, change health insurance plans, adding higher deductibles driven by costs. The same amount would finance everyone prepaid by a single pay in by all according to income. Along with it comes the freedom to choose a provider and hospital when you are sick. The balance sheet shows this ia a plus for citizens, not a minus.
Government investment in college, transportation, and opening opportunities for jobs in a green economy enhances growth for all, not its opposite.
The trick is to support programs with a return on the dollar. The above do. Social security, Medicare, police departments, firefighters are all government paid programs. These enhance our capitalistic sector. They do not detract.
We are only doomed if we narrow the nation's destiny to not evaluate our future properly.
Margaret Thatcher's austerity produced just that.
It is American "can do" that will improve the people's lots, not sitting on our hands.
22
I voted for Shirley Chisholm,
and I wish I could vote for her again.
She honestly cared about the Poor and the disenfranchised.
I am in favor of putting her statue right next to Lincoln's
the Washington, D.C. and renaming one of the Congressional
Buildings in her honor and putting her image on the $ 50 bill.
113
Next to Lincoln?
Chisholm was great, but she was no Lincoln. Exaggeration does her a disservice.
I remember Ms. Chisholm. She was both a visionary and a pragmatist. Her aims were high but not pie in the sky, and she was a lady in the truest sense of the word.
No silly name-calling, and heaven knows no use of obscenities, for her.
Current politicians take note.
4
Too young to vote in 1972, I followed the presidential campaign that year closely, nonetheless.
Pat Paulsen's run may have been a gimmick, but Chisholm's was for real.
I am happy to see that 50 years after her election to the House of Representatives, honors long overdue will be bestowed on Shirley Chisholm.
47
I'm glad to hear that Viola Davis is doing a new film about Shirley Chisholm so that new generations can get to know her.
Chisholm's memoir "Unbought and Unbossed" is excellent and worth reading if you're interested in her life. I believe there is also a documentary about her by that title too.
Chisholm was ahead of her time. She would have fit right in with today's House of Representatives or would be running for President AGAIN. Her courage in standing up to the Neanderthals of Congress in the 1960's and 1970's was so inspiring to me as a young girl.
If she were alive, she'd be disappointed that we are still fighting the exact same issues she was fighting 50 years ago but she wouldn't be surprised.
132
@sfdphd
There is a documentary, thanks for mentioning it. I watched it probably a decade ago and thought the time would come for a "rediscovery" of Shirley Chisholm. It has.
36
@sfdphd
Go to Amazon Prime, Video, if you are a member.
You can watch Unbought and Unbossed as part of your membership. It is amazing to see her and learn about her life.
13
@simon sez
Unfortunately, "This video is currently unavailable" on Amazon Prime.
2