"I'd like them to say that Shirley Chisholm had guts."
- Shirley Chisholm
[source]
[source: unbossedandunbought.com]
Shirley Chisholm, a Brooklyn native, was a fearless crusader of women's rights as well as for the oppressed as a whole. Not only was she the first black woman to be elected into congress in 1968 (where she was re-elected six times before retiring from office in 1983 and also hired an all-female staff for her first term), she was also the first black woman to run for president.
On his CBS evening news report in 1972, Walter Cronkite stated, "A new hat -- rather, a bonnet -- was tossed into the presidential race today" [source]. Disappointingly, Shirley Chisholm's presidential campaign was short lived; Being born with a "double handicap" as she put it (being black and a woman), caused overwhelming and disheartening discrimination against her. It was a rocky uphill battle laden with barbed wire and other painful obstacles. Her debates were not even televised.
Despite her campaign's fate, it ultimately created a positive ripple in the stagnant political pond; It started a discussion within her targeted demographic to participate in elections, to use their voice. "I ran for the presidency, despite hopeless odds, to demonstrate sheer will and refusal to accept the status quo" [source].
Sources:
Washington PostPBS
Women's History Organization
