“I’D like to be known as catalyst for change, a woman who had the determination and a woman who had the perseverance to fight on behalf of the female population and the black population because I am the product of both being black and a woman.”
— Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm 1990
Much is being made of the decision of Sen. Hillary Clinton to run in the 2008 presidential race. I have read, to the point of nausea, of the “history” that is occurring regarding her run: the first female presidential candidate. Or is she simply the most important, the most photogenic, and the most well-connected?
If we want to portray history as accurately as possible regarding Senator Clinton’s run, we MUST mention that she would not have a platform or much support, if she hadn’t first been preceded by Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, D-NY. Congresswoman Chisholm was elected to Congress in 1968, a challenging and dangerous year for black Democrats, such as Fannie Lou Hamer.
Shirley Chisholm was the first black woman and the first woman in modern history to join the Democratic ticket as a presidential candidate in 1972. She paved the way for future black candidates such as Jesse Jackson, Rev. Al Sharpton, Alan Hayes and Carol Mosely Braun. She was re-elected to Congress seven times, fighting for issues primarily related to labor, women and children, issues which I find important as a teacher, union supporter and parent.
Senator Clinton receives the press accolades because she is the wife of the former president and because she is Caucasian. Period. If the press wanted to be historically accurate, it would have at least mentioned Congresswoman Chisholm. As an undergraduate, I had the fortune to meet Ms. Chisholm personally. She was petite, but still fiery. The congresswoman was a recent part of living history, and, like my parents, I will always remember her. Congresswoman Chisholm will always be my personal president.
In closing, Ms. Chisholm was NOT the first woman of color elected to Congress. That honor belongs to the Pacific Islands: in 1965, Ms. Patsy Takemoto Fink was the first woman and the first Asia-Pacific Islander to be elected to Congress. I am equally proud of her, and I will share this legacy with my students.
I hope that all of my lady students here in the islands will say, along with Congresswomen Chisholm and Fink, that they too are “Unbought and Unbossed.”

LAURALYNN SWEET
Capital Hill, Saipan