[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 175 (Thursday, December 3, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1701]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 IN HONOR OF THE LATE SHIRLEY CHISHOLM

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. TERRI A. SEWELL

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 3, 2015

  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in honor of the late 
Shirley Chisholm whose courage helped pave the way, for a little black 
girl from Selma to walk the hallowed halls of Congress as the 
Representative from Alabama's 7th Congressional District.
   I strongly believe that in order to be a Congresswoman, I had to 
first see myself as a Congresswoman. The person who most embodied that 
was Shirley Chisholm. Through her--I was able to see that I too could 
be in Congress. I too could represent my community and work towards 
positive change for people who were denied a seat at the table.
   I am fortunate to have met Ms. Chisholm before she passed away. I 
took a train to Mount Holyoke my senior year at Princeton to interview 
Ms. Chisholm for my senior thesis, ``Black Women in Politics: Our Time 
Has Come.'' As luck would have it, it started to snow just as soon as I 
sat down in the chair across from her. My thirty minute interview 
turned into a four hour interview, and Ms. Chisholm shared the 
challenges and struggles she encountered as the first African-American 
woman ever elected to Congress.
   Whenever I feel the weight of the world resting on my shoulder . . . 
I walk by her portrait hanging in the Capitol to remind myself of her 
strength, courage, and conviction. I know that whatever challenges I 
have encountered pale in comparison to the trials she faced. It was not 
easy for her to walk the halls of Congress as the only black woman. She 
opened the door for Barbara Jordan, and everyone else who followed 
including me.
   Even though many barriers have been broken since her tenure here, 
there is still much work to do. Ms. Chisholm once said that ``service 
is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this earth.'' I can 
only hope that my service in this august body will one day inspire 
others to work for a better, more just society in the same manner that 
Shirley Chisholm has inspired me.

                          ____________________