Political Quotes

“First of all, I would like to thank our Congressional Black Caucus chair, Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, for her tremendous leadership and for giving us this Special Order hour on behalf of the Congressional Black Caucus to honor my mentor, one of the founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus, the late Congresswoman Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm. And to Congresswoman Beatty, I just want to say how proud we are, and how bold she has led this caucus by demanding that everyone really understand our power, and our message. Tonight is no exception. And, in fact, Congresswoman Chisholm, I am sure, is very proud of the leadership of Congresswoman Beatty. As the first African-American woman elected to Congress in 1968--I want you to listen to this--the first Congress convened in 1789 and the first Black woman elected to Congress was in 1968. That was Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm. She was also the first African American and woman to seek the Presidency. Shirley Chisholm has truly cemented her place in history as a trailblazer. I first met Congresswoman Chisholm because of a college assignment at Mills College in Oakland, California. My government professor assigned us to do field work on a Presidential campaign. At the time, several men were vying for the Democratic nomination, but they didn't speak to the issues that I cared about.…”