Shirley Chisholm, Trailblazing Politician, Dead at 80

Shirley Chisholm, who became the first black woman in Congress and first black woman to seek the Democratic nomination for President, died at age 80 in Florida. Born in Brooklyn and educated at Brooklyn College and Columbia's Teaches' College, Chisholm first gained prominence as an educator, advocating early education. Her NY Times obituary is really rich with detail, describing her "unbought and unbossed" slogan in that helped vote her to be Brooklyn's 12th Congressional District Congresswoman and how she challenged the seniority system in Congress; when put on the Agriculture committee, versus one focused on more urban issues, she said:

"Apparently all they know here in Washington about Brooklyn is that a tree grew there. Only nine black people have been elected to Congress, and those nine should be used as effectively as possible."

Gothamist is sorry we missed the time when Chisholm was politically active, but we know our city is better for it.

Here a few Chisholm quotes, and heris Chisholm's bio from Congress. You can also try to order her book, Unbought and Unbossed, from Amazon, and on March 1 of this year, a DVD about her will be released.