Celebrate International Women’s Day with these Shirley Chisholm quotes
It’s International Women’s Day! We’ve got the most iconic quotes by one of the most empowering women in American history – Shirley Chisholm!
If you know your U.S. history, you’ll remember Shirley Chisholm was actually the first African-American from a huge political party to run for U.S. president and as the first Democratic woman ever to run. Her history and wise quotes are definitely something to pay attention to this Women’s Day. Check it out!
History of Shirley Chisholm
Not only was Shirley Chisholm an inspiration for many female politicians, but she was actually from an extremely low-class community. In fact, Penn State Brandywine’s American history professor Julie Gallagher told History: “Her (Chisholm’s) parents struggled in the economic crisis, and they faced discrimination, but she had incredible intellect, and that was recognized.”
As time went by, Shirley Chisholm studied at Brooklyn College and was an excellent debater for the Delta Sigma Theta sorority and the Harriet Tubman Society, but her most impressive use of her time was when she advocated for African-American history to be brought into the college’s curriculum and advocated for women become student government leaders and to use their voices for change.
According to History, Shirley Chisholm was fired from politics in 1953 when her campaign for Lewis Flagg Jr. was connected to the Belford-Stuyvesant Political League. Since her defeat, she continued to find other ways to promote change like advocating for the League of Women Voters.
With such an incredible career, Shirley Chisholm also served in the New York State Assembly from 1965 to 1968. She then became the first black woman to be elected to Congress in 1968 and run for president in 1972. Was there anything Chisholm didn’t do?
Today, we’re extremely excited for Regina King’s film Shirley to dive into the struggles & achievements of the fallen Democrat. And since Shirley Chisholm fought for gender & racial inequality, we’ll take a look at some of her most inspiring quotes to celebrate this year’s International Women’s Day.
Stand up
“If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring in a folding chair.”
“Tremendous amounts of talent are lost to our society because that talent wears a skirt.”
“We must reject not only the stereotypes that others hold of us, but also the stereotypes that we hold ourselves.”
“Be as bold as the first man or woman to eat an oyster.”
“You don’t make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.”
Female empowerment
“It is not female egotism to say that the future of mankind may very well be ours to determine. It is a fact. The warmth, gentleness, and compassion that are part of the female stereotype are positive human values, values that are becoming more and more important as the values of our world begin to shatter and fall from our grasp.”
“Women must become revolutionary. This cannot be evolution but revolution.”
“I want history to remember me not just as the first black woman to be elected to Congress, not as the first black woman to have made a bid for the presidency of the United States, but as a black woman who lived in the 20th century and dared to be herself.”
Always believed in others
“You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.”
“Service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this earth.”
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Are you excited for Regina King to star as Shirley Chisholm in the upcoming Hollywood film Shirley? Let us know in the comments below.
