City Honors Shirley Chisholm, First Black Woman to Serve in Congress, with Monument

U.S. Rep Shirley Chisholm. Image credit: Thomas J. O’Halloran, U.S. News & World Reports. Light restoration by Adam Cuerden

Nominations sought to honor a woman committed to social reform and justice. On November 30, 2018, First Lady Chirlane McCray, Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen, and the Department of Cultural Affairs announced the selection of U.S. Rep. Shirley Chisholm, the first black Congresswoman and the first woman to seek the Democratic presidential nomination, for a City-funded monument at the Parkside entrance to Prospect Park. Rep. Chisholm’s monument will be the first monument under the She Built NYC initiative is which seeks to commission public monuments honoring the New York City women who changed history.

Rep. Shirley Chisholm was born in Brooklyn in 1924, the oldest of four daughters to immigrant parents from Guyana and Barbados. Rep. Chisholm graduated from Brooklyn College in 1946 and earned a master’s degree from Columbia University in 1951. Rep. Chisholm ran for and won the New York State Legislature in 1964. Rep. Chisholm was elected to Congress in 1968 and sought nomination for president of the United States in 1972. In Congress, Rep. Chisholm worked to expand access to food stamps, helped create the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, helped pass Title IX, and worked to extend minimum wage requirements to domestic workers.

She Built NYC kicked off in June 2018 with an open call for nominations from the public. The public was asked to submit their ideas on how to honor inspiring, diverse people and events that comprise the history of New York women. Members of the public submitted nearly 2,000 nominations with 98 percent of respondents asking to see a woman committed to social reform or justice as an honoree. An advisory panel comprised of individuals from a broad range of expertise and backgrounds refined the public submissions list and provided recommendations to the City.

The artist selected to design Rep. Chisholm’s monument will be announced in early 2019 and the monument will be installed by the end of 2020.

First Lady Chirlane McCray, Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen, and the Department of Cultural Affairs announce that a monument to U.S. Rep. Shirley Chisholm, the political trailblazer who was both the first black Congresswoman and the first woman to seek the Democratic presidential nomination. Image credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.

“Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm’s legacy of leadership and activism has paved the way for thousands of women to seek public office,” said First Lady Chirlane McCray. “She is exactly the kind of New York woman whose contributions should be honored with representation in our public spaces, and that is now being realized with She Built NYC.”

“Monuments in New York City’s public spaces do not reflect the full breadth of our rich history and diverse population, and that’s something we’re committed to changing,” said Cultural Affairs Commissioner Tom Finkelpearl. “In recognizing Shirley Chisholm – an inspiring leader, true trailblazer, and consummate Brooklynite – this new artwork will be an important step toward fulfilling Mayor de Blasio’s call for greater representation in our public realm. We’re committed to working with residents to create monuments that express more completely who we are as New Yorkers, and who we want to lift up as embodiments of our shared history and values.”

“Shirley Chisolm earned her reputation as a trailblazer the hard way – by getting out in front of an issue and following it through. She played out her life on a large stage where her every movement was scrutinized and every decision questioned. Her career was a series of “firsts.” “First Blacks” bear the burden for their own destiny, as well as that of every other African American who hopes to follow. Shirley Chisholm bore that burden better than most.  Through her feisty spirit, dogged persistence, and unwillingness to compromise the truth, she made a powerful difference in more lives than she would ever know. She had a real connection with the people of Brooklyn, and dealt with difficult issues and circumstances with the courage, frankness and flair that was her trademark.  This is an honor suited to Shirley Chisolm, the trailblazer,” said David N. Dinkins, 106th Mayor, City of New York.