1968 – Shirley Chisholm Speaks at Women’s Leadership Rally

On May 15, 1968, Shirley Chisholm delivered a rousing keynote address at a women’s leadership conference in New York City. As the first Black woman elected to Congress just months earlier, Chisholm used the platform to call on Black women to take control of their political futures and community leadership. She stressed that neither race nor gender should be a limitation to power, declaring that the fight for civil rights and women’s rights must be united. Her speech was a clarion call for intersectional justice years before the term was coined. Chisholm\’s message resonated nationally, inspiring a generation of Black women to seek office, challenge the status quo, and amplify their voices in policy decisions. This speech is often seen as a precursor to her historic 1972 presidential run and remains a foundational moment in the history of Black feminist politics in the United States.