Unbought and Unbossed...

"Tremendous amounts of talent are being lost to our society just because that talent wears a skirt."

Shirley Chisholm dies at age 80
First black woman elected to Congress fought for minorities

Monday, January 3, 2005

MIAMI, Florida (AP) -- Shirley Chisholm, an advocate for minority rights who became the first black woman elected to Congress and later the first black person to seek a major party's nomination for the U.S. presidency, has died. The Rev. Jesse Jackson called her a "woman of great courage."

Standing up for minorities, voting for whites over blacks, even visiting George Wallace in the hospital after he was shot during the height of the Civil Rights Movement - fair, loud and an inspiration to all. Her motto was "If you're not going to help me, get out of my way!"

She ran for president in 1972 - unheard of for a black, let alone a black woman...

"I stand before you today as a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the Presidency of the United States. I am not the candidate of black America, although I am black and proud. I am not the candidate of the women's movement of this country, although I am a woman, and I am equally proud of that. I am not the candidate of any political bosses or special interests. I am the candidate of the people."

Shirley was a congresswoman, a motivational and inspirational speaker, a campaign pro and an amazing person. To lose a person of this caliber, even at her late age, is to lose part of the breath of change. I am grateful to her for starting and continuing to fan the flames of change.