Senate Honors Shirley Chisholm - Women's Congressional Policy Institute

On February 14, the Senate approved, by unanimous consent, a resolution (S. Res. 52) honoring former Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm (D-NY) for her services to the nation and expressing condolences to her family, friends, and supporters on her death.

Sponsored by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), the resolution contains a number of findings, including:

In 1968, Shirley Chisholm became the first African American woman elected to Congress, representing New York’s Twelfth Congressional District;
As a member of Congress, Shirley Chisholm was an advocate for civil rights, women’s rights, and the poor;
Shirley Chisholm co-founded the National Organization for Women;
Shirley Chisholm was an outspoken advocate of women’s rights throughout her career, saying, “Women in this country must become revolutionaries. We must refuse to accept the old, the traditional roles and stereotypes;”
On January 25, 1972, Shirley Chisholm announced her candidacy for president and became the first African American to be considered for a the presidential nomination by a major national political party; and
Shirley Chisholm was a model public servant and an example for African American women, and her strength and perseverance serve as an inspiration for all people striving for change.

Sen. Clinton said that Shirley Chisholm “was a bold pioneer who fought for civil rights and equality with an energy that forever changed the way American politics deals with matters of race and gender.” She pointed out that Shirley Chisholm was the first woman to run for the Democratic presidential nomination, adding, “Despite being largely ignored by the media, her committed run for the Presidency, and the 152 delegates she won, proved to the entire country that a woman was up to the task of taking on a serious run for national office.”

Sen. Clinton added further, “Representative Chisholm was a powerful symbol, an ‘historical person’ as she put it. But perhaps her greatest achievement was reminding us that the purpose of fighting for equality is not to simply make a point or become a symbol; it is to work for that day when we can all enjoy the quiet responsibility of being equal. As she explained in her 1969 speech to the House in favor of the equal rights amendment: ‘A woman who aspires to be the chairman of the board or a member of the House does so for exactly the same reason as any man…She thinks she can do the job and she wants to try.”