Because of her. pic.twitter.com/6QTXadxdON
— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) November 16, 2018
Congratulations Ayanna. The portrait of Shirley Chisholm by Kadir Nelson is one of my favorites. Both the artist and the painting.
— Karin J (@KarinJurick) November 16, 2018
“If They Don’t Give You A Seat At the Table, Bring A Folding Chair”
Chisholm was the first Black woman to run for President, and — along with Bella Abzug — my first introduction to women owning their political power.
Glad to see that she’s still inspiring the new generation of leaders!
rikyrah
Chisholm did not play???
Jay
The “kids” are alright. ????
Jerzy Russian
Nice looking painting. Too bad she did not win.
ruemara
I saw that on the twitters. It made me quite proud.
frosty
And imma brag once more: Barack wasn’t my first POC vote for president and Hillary wasn’t my first woman. I’m proud to say my first ever presidential vote was for Shirley Chisholm, California primary, 1972.
wasabi gasp
That portrait is bad-ass beautiful.
bad Jim
Oh yeah, that portrait is that. John Singer Sargent and a subject with attitude.
Ben Cisco
That’s a nice, and very inspiring, moment. Here’s hoping it in turn provides inspiration to the next generation as well.
Ivan X
Shirley Chisholm came to speak at my college back in the early 90’s. I didn’t really know who she was, being young and dumb, but I could see she was smart and tough. She told a story about how there was one representative who would hock up phlegm into his handkerchief every day when he passed her seat, along with others. She called him on it, though I forget the details as to exactly how, but it was perfect.
Someone asked her which was harder for her in Congress, being black, or being a woman. She said definitely being a woman. It was that day that I realized that we would elect a black male President before we elected a woman.
Ruckus
I was just reading John’s thread below and had to laugh a bit. I just had a day. A buddy of 45 yrs and I were going to an industry show at a convention center over an hour away. We’d both been involved with the subject, from different directions. And we’ve been going to this show for at least 30 yrs, except when I lived out of state. So we decided to take the commuter train. But we live about 30 miles apart and had to meet in the middle. His train broke down, who knew that a train needed brakes, and so he ended up being 2 hrs late to our meet up to finish going to the show. It was very much OK though as I had and think so did he, one of the best times ever. Talked to people we’d never met and had interesting conversation after interesting conversation. Also saw someone I haven’t seen for 8-10 yrs, although we’ve mostly kept up on FB. We rode the train back to Union Station and had about 1 1/2 hr wait for his train, and so had a great dinner. And then I had another great conversation with a stranger on my train ride home.
My point is that I’ve been feeling like John in his post below. Life is shit, blah, blah, blah. Today brought back a bit of loveliness to the world. Get out, mingle, strike up a conversation with a stranger and enjoy…..
Sab
@Ruckus: Your comment was a joy to read
Ohio Mom
What I remember about Chisholm is of those things that might be apocryphal but I am convinced is true nonetheless: that she won her predominantly African American district by the ratio of registered women voters to men voters. Even then, it was Black women leading the way.
Also, the Obamas were definitely referencing that portrait when they picked the artists they did to do their portraits.
It’s nice to have something pleasant to do — this thread — when insomnia strikes.
NotMax
Small correction.
Chisholm was the first African-American woman to run for president in a major party (1972).
Charlene Mitchel was nominated by the American Communist Party and ran for president in 1968 (the same year Chisholm became the first African-American congresswoman).
NotMax
@NotMax
No edit function.
Mitchell, not Mitchel.
NotMax
Speaking of empowered women of the same time period, one mustn’t leave out Barbara Jordan’s powerful keynote speech at the ’72 Democratic convention (a first for a black woman).
RedDirtGirl
Such a powerful painting. Just getting in from a night of playing music with friends and am too wound up to sleep any time soon.
Barb 2
@frosty:
I am proud that I also voted for her.
Imagine what our world would be like today?!
sm*t cl*de
“If They Don’t Give You A Seat At the Table, Bring A Folding Chair”
…and hit people with it.
tobie
Thanks, AL. Loved that picture of Pressley and Chisholm. Loved reading a post that mentioned my two political heroes of the 1970s, Shirley Chisholm and Bella Abzug. Ayanna Presley’s tribute was touching, as was Antonio Delgado’s:
@DelgadoforNY19
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A true honor to be in the company of an American hero @repjohnlewis. I’m able to serve because of his leadership and courage.
Maybe in the long arc of history, there is some justice. Presley and Delgado think so and that’s inspiring.
Ruckus
@tobie:
There is. Unfortunately that arc is longer than a lot of lifetimes. But it’s what we leave in our wake that makes that arc for the next, and the next……
Gravie
@frosty: Me, too! Florida primary. Actually it was the first vote I ever cast in a national election, having turned 21 in 1969.
Kifaru1
So I met Bella Abzug in Nairobi in 1985, when I was 14. My mom worked at the UN and she managed to set up a private meeting for us in a small conference room….I don’t remember too much about the meeting except that it was great to meet a woman in power and her hat :)
Anne Laurie
@Kifaru1: JEALOUS!
You know the story about her hats, right? She claimed she started wearing a hat because, when she was bare-headed, the men at every meeting would ‘forget’ she wasn’t a secretary, and would demand she make coffee, take minutes, etc. Eventually those hats became her style signature…
Tata
Love this so.