black history month: SHIRLEY CHISHOLM

“Service is the rent you pay for room on this earth.”
        Shirley Chisholm was the first African American woman elected to the House of Representatives. She was elected in 1968 and represented the state of New York. She was assigned to the House Forestry Committee but demanded reassignment. She was moved to the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, then promoted to the Education and Labor Committee. She championed minority education and employment opportunities, and vehemently opposed the draft. Eventually, she became a founder of the Congressional Black Caucus.
        She broke ground again four years later in 1972 when she was the first major party African-American candidate and the first female candidate for president of the United States. After seven terms in the House, she retired to become a teacher and public speaker.

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