December 17, 2024
President Biden signed bipartisan legislation on December 12 to honor the first black congressman.
Shirley Chisholm will be honored in Congress with the highest honor through the Congressional Gold Medal Act.
President Biden signed the bipartisan legislation on Dec. 12 to honor the first black congressman, Chisholm, who died in 2005. She was also the first black woman to run for president.
There will be a gold medal combined under US Treasury Department. The original medal will be struck with Chisholm’s image, name and “appropriate” emblems and inscriptions, according to NBC News.
Prior to the presidential signing, Vice President Harris signed the bill along with the bill’s co-sponsors, California Sen. Lafonza Butler and California Rep. Barbara Lee.
The moment was especially sentimental for Lee, whom Chisholm mentored during his collegiate years and early in his career as a politician.
“It was an honor to stand with Vice President Kamala Harris as she signed this historic bill,” Lee said in a statement obtained by the media. “I see no one more deserving than Shirley Chisholm,” Lee added It’s important for a generation to see the first black woman elected to Congress get the recognition she deserves.”
After its opening, it will find a home at the Smithsonian Institution and will be on display at Chisholm events, with duplicate versions available to the public.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1924, Chisholm won his first seat in the New York State Assembly in 1964.
She later founded NOW, the National Organization for Women, and her tenacity and strength earned her the nickname “Fighting Shirley.” With his campaign slogan, “Unsatisfied and Concerned,” he won his seat in Congress in 1968, representing New York’s 12th District.
During his seven terms in Congress, he introduced 50 pieces of legislation, championing immigration reform and welfare programs for families, including the creation of the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, also known as WIC.
However, she broke another glass ceiling for black women and the American people during the presidential campaign in 1972. Although she did not secure the nomination for a major party, her nomination was marked new area for the diverse leadership of the nation.
For his historic legacy, contemporary lawmakers from both parties voted to bestow the honor.The initiative and its passing coincide with the year Chisholm would have turned 100. ShirleyStarring Regina King, it was also released in March of this year.
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