Barack Obama is not the first black candidate to run for president. Hillary Clinton is not the first woman. Both stand on the shoulders of those who came and tried before them.
People remember Jesse Jackson's campaigns. In 1984, he won 3.5 million votes and the South Carolina, Virginia, and Louisiana primaries. In 1988, Jackson won 6.9 million votes from seven primaries (Alabama, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Puerto Rico and Virginia) and four caucuses (Delaware, Michigan, South Carolina and Vermont).
But they forget about Shirley Chisholm.
In 1972, Chisholm ran and won 152 delegates. Gloria Steinem was one of her delegates.
Shirley Chisholm helped pave the way for both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to be the powerhouses they have been in this election.
1 comments:
It seems to me that Shirley Chisholm has been left out of the frenzied commentary of the "historic" nature of this year's primary.
Both Barack and Hillary owe her a debt of gratitude.
In her own words :
' I am a candidate for the Presidency of the United States of America. I make that statement proudly, in the full knowledge that, as a black person and as a female person, I do not have a chance of actually gaining that office in this election year. I make that statement seriously, knowing that my candidacy itself can change the face and future of American politics--that it will be important to the needs and hopes of every one of you--even though, in the conventional sense, I will not win.' -June 4, 1972
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