Dear Reader:

A Day in Our Lives

In all of the wild celebration of my birthday, there was another significant event that took place on that day in 1968. Shirley Chisholm became the first African American woman elected to Congress. On November 5, 1968, she was elected to represent New York’s 12th District. She maintained the seat for seven terms until 1983.

In that time she continued to make history – Ms. Chisholm was the first African American to run for president, seeking the Democratic nomination in 1972. She was also one of the founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

But most of all I remember Shirley Chisholm as a neighbor. She lived two blocks from where I grew up. While we didn’t see her much, there were times when we, as young boys, were in awe of the woman who arrived at her home in a chauffer-driven town car. She would take the time to speak to me and my friends. We knew she was important, but we didn’t really know just how important she was.

Shirley Chisholm died in 2005. Chisholm may be most noted for the title of her book, Unbought and Unbossed, a fitting epitaph for her life. But throughout her career on Capitol Hill, Chisholm delivered a number of bold and enlightening statements. One of my favorites is one we all familiarize ourselves with and maybe even try to live by:

“You don't make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.”
Shirley Chisholm

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Eric Von

Publisher/Editor