History was made in 1968 when Shirley Chisholm became the first Black woman elected to Congress. She served New York’s 12th Congressional District, which included her neighborhood of Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
It was not a race Chisholm was supposed to win. What helped propel her to victory was the court mandating a significant redrawing of the district to include Bedford–Stuyvesant. This change was expected to result in Brooklyn’s first Black member of Congress. She defeated two Black opponents to win the Democratic nomination and showed that her slogan, “Fighting Shirley Chisholm — Unbought and Unbossed,†was true.
During the campaign, Chisholm faced opposition within and outside her party as she was not considered a serious candidate. Next up was a seasoned liberal party candidate, James Farmer, with strong Republican support. Even though her campaign lacked resources, Chisholm won by an astonishing 67% of the vote.
However, Chisholm could not enjoy her victory for long. As a Black female freshman in Congress, she was given an assignment that did not match her urban background or her constituents’ interests. She was assigned to the House Agriculture Committee, which, besides being a poor fit, lacked stature compared to other noteworthy committees. These included, for example, Appropriations and Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, Judiciary, Banking, and Housing and Urban Affairs.
After this disheartening assignment, Chisholm received a call from the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, who was a resident of her district and a wise voice of counsel to many.
The rabbi began the conversation by acknowledging Chisholm’s dissatisfaction with her assignment after having achieved a significant victory she was never supposed to win. From there, though, the rabbi painted the other side and offered a helpful perspective. As reported by Schneerson’s assistant, the rabbi suggested, “This country has so much surplus food, and there are so many hungry people. You can use this gift that God gave you to feed hungry people. Find a creative way to do it.â€
Those words would stick and provide the guidance and pluck Chisholm needed to persevere. Not long after, Chisholm met with Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan., who served on the Senate Agriculture Committee. Dole, who had many farmers in his state, was interested in providing food aid to the hungry and helping his constituents. Dole had worked to build the food stamp program to benefit both, and now, upon meeting Chisholm, he was looking for new ways to expand food aid to the poor.
It didn’t take long for Chisholm and Dole to conceive of the WIC (Women, Infants and Children) program for low-income pregnant women and children under 5. As Chisholm saw it, “Poor babies [now] have milk, and poor children have food.†She recalled the rabbi’s guidance.
With their push, WIC became a pilot program in 1972. It has since expanded to serve 8 million women and children, benefiting 39% of all infants in the United States.
Is there a way to unpack that behavior, learn from it and replicate the model in the 21st century?
Maybe we can hear the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous words, “Everyone can be great, because everyone can serve.â€
Shirley Chisholm, unbossed and unbought, showed us what great means and how.
Jill Ebstein is the editor of the “At My Pace” series of books and the founder of Sized Right Marketing, a consulting firm. She wrote this for .
