Shirley Chisholm
A woman who would not wait her turn
When Hillary Clinton won the popular vote but lost to Donald Trump, 200 other women had already run for US President and lost before her. The first was Victoria Woodhull who ran for President in 1872 for the Equal Rights Party. It supported women’s suffrage and equal rights.
My young world
I was born as World War II was ending. The country was locked in postwar patriarchy. Women were encouraged to quit their jobs so the men could have them. They were asked to stay home and create the ideal American family. My mother hated it. She liked working. She couldn’t cook or sew. The patriarchal, white, politely racist culture formed my outlook.
Wake-up time
When I was in my late twenties, a black woman ran for President: Shirley Chisholm. She agreed with Democratic men on most issues, except gender. Her motto “Unbought and Unbossed” infuriated men, black or white.
Chisholm woke my sleepy soul.
She denounced the Vietnam War and supported the Veterans Administration. She helped increase federal funding for daycare and backed a national school lunch bill while serving on the Committee on Education and Labor. She was a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Women’s…
