On June 29, the Senate approved, by unanimous consent, a bill (S. 571) honoring former Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm who passed away on January 1, 2005. Sponsored by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), the measure would designate a U.S. Postal Service facility in Brooklyn, New York, as the “Congresswoman Shirley A. Chisholm Post Office Building.” The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved S. 571 on June 22 (see The Source, 6/24/05).
The first African American woman elected to Congress, Ms. Chisholm served seven terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1968 until 1982. During her congressional career, she served on the House Education and Labor, Veterans Affairs, and Rules Committees, and helped found the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues and the Congressional Black Caucus. In 1972, Ms. Chisholm became the first African American to seek a major party’s nomination for President. After retiring from Congress in 1982, she established the National Political Congress of Black Women and served on the Advisory Council of the National Organization for Women.
