First Bella, then Patsy, now Shirley

Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to Congress, is dead. She died Saturday in Florida at the age of 80. Chisholm received 151 delegates when she ran for president in 1972, and was a strong and courageous proponent of women, minorities, and the poor.

Truly "unbought and unbossed," Chisholm taught a generation of women how to enter politics and retain integrity at the same time. She always said she was discriminated against more for being a woman than for being black. Those of us who were active in the Second Wave remember her with great respect.