BHM Reflection: Shirley A. Chisolm – A Moment in Her-Story
posted by Shakenna Moore | February 27, 2024 | In Arts and Culture, NewsThis week in Black history, we celebrate and give flowers to Ms. Shirley Anita Chisolm. She was a politician, author and educator.
She was the first African American woman to be elected to the United States Congress in 1968. She represented New York’s 12th Congressional District, and she was the first African American woman to run for president in 1972. She was also a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus.
As a New Yorker, born and raised, I personally feel extra proud. Because of her hard work and dedication in expanding food and nutrition programs for the poor, and all that she did for minorities, women and children, she inspired my grandmother to do the same.
I come from a very Religious Christian family. My grandmother was a pastor and she had a street ministry that provided and cared for the community. She provided soup kitchens for the homeless and anyone who needed a hot meal. She worked with the city of New York and provided the youth with jobs through the Summer Youth Program and City Volunteer Corp. She helped the people of the community to get clothing and any other resources that they needed. There was a running joke in our family that she was like Jesus with the two little fish and five loaves of bread and how, just like him, she was able to feed the masses: making something out of nothing.
Some people may not believe that representation matters but the life that I was exposed to is living proof that it does. Although my grandmother would have probably gone on to do all of the things that she did to help the community regardless, it didn’t hurt that she could find inspiration from amazing Black women such as Ms. Shirley Chisolm.
Photo courtesy of Library of Congress
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.