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The first woman to ever run for the Democratic nomination

By Stéphanie Thomson

They say that history is written by the victors. Perhaps that’s why our history books tend to be dominated by men, with women relegated to bit parts. Of course, there are exceptions: women so powerful and influential that their legacies live on. Queen Elizabeth I, Boudica or Joan of Arc, for example – the same names we hear thrown around when asked to think of leading female historical figures.

But beyond these usual suspects, there are many trailblazing women you’ve probably never heard of. And that’s why we celebrate Women’s History Month every March. It is, as US President Barack Obama said this week, an opportunity to remember those who are all too often overlooked: “During Women’s History Month, we remember the trailblazers of the past, including the women who are not recorded in our history books, and we honour their legacies by carrying forward the valuable lessons learned from the powerful examples they set.”

Meet Shirley Chisholm

By the end of the year, the world’s most powerful country might have its first female president. That would be quite an achievement. But before Hillary Clinton, there was another trailblazing woman most people outside of the US will have never heard of: Shirley Chisholm.

The daughter of two immigrants, Chisolm was born into poverty in Brooklyn. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts, she taught in a nursery school while at the same time studying for her master’s at Colombia. She later got into politics, and would become the first African-American woman elected to the US Congress, and the first woman and black person to run for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination.

“I felt that the time had come when a black person or a female person could and should be president of the US – not only white males. I decided somebody had to get it started,” she said in an interview years later.

While her bid was unsuccessful, she laid the foundations for those who would come after her, teaching them that anything was possible.

This post is an excerpt of a longer article by Stéphanie Thomson that originally appeared on Forum Agenda, the blog of the World Economic Forum.

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