Unbought and Unbossed: Catalyst for change in the 20th Century

Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm

Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm was elected into Congress of the United States in 1968 representing New York's 12 district. Mrs. Chisholm ran for the office of the presidency of the United States in 1972 and came closer than any woman ever to win the nomination with 152 delegates.  A remarkable feat for this goddess of fire in the turbulent 1960’s, but much more impressive is how she did it. I recently saw the documentary Shirley Chisholm 72: Unbought and Unbossed, which chronicled her 1972 run for president. The fortitude of this living spirit of Ezili Danto set the world on fire with her ability to bring people of different races, religions and nationalities together, even gaining the support of the National Organization of Women (N.O.W.) as part of her base.

While I was watching the documentary I was just awestruck by her speeches. When I was a child I my mother just thought Congresswoman Chisholm was the incarnation of genius, being a youngster at the time I could not understand my mother’s enthusiasm for the Congresswoman, but when I saw the film I wanted to pick up the phone and call my mother to tell how right she was about Shirley Chisholm. This woman could do what Senator Barak Obama cannot do. She exuded pure honesty, in that she could defend the plight of Black people in the raw oratory force and tone of El Hajj Malik Shabbazz (Malcom X for those that don’t know) and in the next moment speak just as powerfully about the rights of women and not lose one supporter, because she vehemently stood up for both sides of herself being Black and woman. One of the reasons, I believe she did not lose her base when she would stand up for Black power or Women’s Rights was because she was quite transparent in her honesty, it was honesty from her soul. She was once asked why she would accept funds from the Black Panther Party for Self Defense. Her curt retort was simply…”why should I not accept funds from this grass roots organization, yet you should be asking yourself what were the conditions that created the Black Panther Party?…” That, right there, struck to the heart of the issue and she could pull this off like no one else could then and no one does in politics today.

When I was thinking of this post I was going to speak of Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm as the first Black woman to be elected to congress. I was going to speak of her as being a daughter of the Caribbean & South America representing Black people from the U.S. since she was born in Brooklyn, NY and, raised in Barbados (her father was from Guyana.) I was going to speak of Mrs. Chisholm as the first Black woman to run seriously and to be taken seriously on her bid for president. But, in her last words on the film she said she wanted to be remembered as a catalyst for change, she said she wanted to be remembered as someone that fought for change in the 20^th century. Mrs. Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm I will honor your words.

Comments

[Asabagna]

Interesting post. Thanks for the knowledge. I had never heard of Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm until now.

Peace.