Shirley Chisolm for President, 1972: 'Unbought and Unbossed'

[PalJoey]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 6:34pm

Most everyone on this board is too young to remember the 1972 candidacy of the remarkable congresswoman Shirley Chisolm for president.




She ran against all the odds, and of course, she lost at the convention to George McGovern, but she had 151 delegates support her all the way to the end. When she declared her candidacy, she uttered these inspirational words:

"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 equally proud of that. I am not the candidate of any political bosses or special interests. I am the candidate of the people."

The most extraordinary moment of her extraordinary campaign occurred in a hospital room after the assassination attempt on the racist candidate and Alabama Governor George Wallace. She paid him a visit, just to express her concern. He said to her, "But what will your people say?" She wrote in her memoir, "I said, 'I know what they are going to say. But I wouldn't want what happened to you to happen to anyone.'"

She summed up her candidacy in that book:

"I ran for the Presidency, despite hopeless odds, to demonstrate the sheer will and refusal to accept the status quo. The next time a woman runs, or a black, or a Jew or anyone from a group that the country is ‘not ready' to elect to its highest office, I believe that he or she will be taken seriously from the start… I ran because somebody had to do it first. In this country, everybody is supposed to be able to run for President, but that has never really been true."

If not for Mrs. Chisolm, Barack Obama would not be running for president. If not for Mrs. Chisolm, Hillary Clinton would not be running for president.

We would all do well to take a deep breath and say thanks to Shirley Chisolm.

[javero]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 7:00pm

Excellent post pj. The fact that a self-described black ran for the office of POTUS from a major party for the first time in US history only 36 years ago brings in a fresh perspective to the current horse race. Like Obama, she spent some of her formulative years abroad which allowed her to escape a miopic worldview. Congresswoman Chisolm is gone but not forgotten.

Updated On: 4/14/08 at 07:00 PM

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 7:47pm

I first heard of her when I was googling to see if Hillary was the first woman to win a primary. Indeed ms chisolm holds that distinction. How sad that I never learned of her in either high school or college.

Thank you for starting a thread about her.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 8:02pm

She was always Mrs Chisolm not Ms, despite her fierce feminism

And Javero--she had one thing that Obama lacks: humility.

Updated On: 4/14/08 at 08:02 PM

[Urban]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 8:42pm

She also won the New Jersey Primary. First women to win a state primary.

(Yes, I know it was one of those beauty contest primaries that the other major candidates didn't bother to enter due to Caucuses deciding NJ's delegate selection... but it is neat somewhat).

[javero]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 8:47pm

"And Javero--she had one thing that Obama lacks: humility."

She knew she had a snowball's chance in hell of winning. He, on the other hand, is still naive enough to believe that he has a shot at the White House. Different times, different expectations pj but I get your point perfectly. Obama does have an "air" about him that strikes some as pompous.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 9:03pm

And she had an air about her that was magnanimous!