I ran for the presidency, despite hopeless odds, to demonstrate the sheer will and refusal to accept the status quo.
Shirley ChisholmThe difference between de jure and de facto segregation is the difference between open, forthright bigotry and the shamefaced kind that works through unwritten agreements between real estate dealers, school officials, and local politicians.
Shirley ChisholmRacism is so universal in this country, so widespread and deepseated, that it is invisible because it is so normal.
Shirley ChisholmWe Americans have a chance to become someday a nation in which all racial stocks and classes can exist in their own selfhoods, but meet on a basis of respect and equality and live together, socially, economically, and politically.
Shirley ChisholmI stand before you today as a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the presidency of the United States. I am not the candidate of black America, although I am black and proud. I'm not the candidate of the women's movement of this country, although I am a woman, and I'm equally proud of that. I am not the candidate of any political bosses or fat cats or special interests... I am the candidate of the people...
Shirley Chisholm