[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 2 (Thursday, January 6, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E34]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          MOURNING THE LOSS OF CONGRESSWOMAN SHIRLEY CHISHOLM

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ANTHONY D. WEINER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 6, 2005

  Mr. WEINER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mourn the loss of a legend. 
Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm was a trailblazer whose story represents 
the best of America, and the essence of the New York experience.
  She was the first of four girls born to two immigrants--one 
Barbadian, the other Guyanese--who instilled in her a lifelong devotion 
to the value of a good education. She graduated cum laude from Brooklyn 
College, and went onto earn a master's degree at Columbia.
  During the 1950s, she directed a day care center in Brooklyn, and 
worked as an educational consultant for New York City. Her work in the 
community launched her political career, and she was elected to the New 
York State Assembly in 1964.
  In 1968, she was elected to Congress as the first African-American 
woman to serve in the House of Representatives. She went on to become a 
founding member of both the National Organization for Women, the 
National Women's Political Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus. 
And as always, she devoted her energies to education, promoting 
programs like Title IX and early childhood education.
  She served seven terms in Congress, in midst of it all becoming the 
first African-American, of either gender, to run a large-scale campaign 
to become the presidential candidate of one of the major political 
parties.
  A proud and independent voice, Shirley Chisholm was a New York 
original. She will be sorely missed.

                          ____________________