Shirley Chisholm
Every Wednesday this month, there will be a comic in honor of Black History Month. To add a Two Party Opera twist, they will all involve some connection to the Presidency.
Shirley Chisholm was a woman far ahead of her time and knew how to take action to force the time to catch up to her. She was what we should view as the ideal American. A self-made daughter of immigrants who fought against all odds to bring justice to others, never sacrificing her convictions on the way. She would go on to champion civil rights, women’s rights, child’s care, and relief for the poor until she died in 2005.
In 1972, she ran for president not even necessarily to win, but simply to clear the pathway for a future where it wouldn’t be seen as unusual for a woman or a person of color to run, saying in 1973, “I ran because someone had to do it first. In this country everybody is supposed to be able to run for President, but that’s never really been true. I ran because most people think the country is not ready for a black candidate, not ready for a woman candidate. Someday… It was time in 1972 to make that someday come and, partly through a series of accidents that might never recur, it seemed to me that I was the best fitted to try.”
