A resolution (H. Res. 97) honoring the contributions and achievements of former Congresswoman Shirley Anita Chisholm (D-NY) overwhelmingly passed the House, 415-0, on June 12. Rep. Chisholm was the first African-American woman elected to Congress and the first woman to seek her party’s nomination for President. Rep. Chisholm served as a Member of Congress from 1968-1983. In addition to her service as a legislator, Rep. Chisholm was a nursery school teacher, a director of a child care center, a consultant to the New York Department of Social Services, and a college professor.
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), sponsor of the resolution, called Rep. Chisholm her “role model,” whose “courage and wisdom enabled many women to enter careers that were really nontraditional.”
Highlighting her legislative accomplishments, Rep. Connie Morella (R-MD) noted, “Ms. Chisholm helped pass the Adequate Income Act of 1971, which guaranteed a minimum income for impoverished families. She helped convince Congress to override President Ford’s veto of the bill which finally provided support for state day care agencies.”
Rep. Patsy Mink (D-HI) said she “was fortunate enough to have served with Shirley Chisholm” in the House and “her most outstanding contribution to America” was her run for the Presidency. “Shirley Chisholm made headlines all over the newspapers, making a real impression on young people that here was a woman willing to stand up against all odds to make her point that America was for all people and that women should consider the opportunity to run for President,” she added.
