What indeed was so special about the little girl who spent her primary years in our Barbados school system? Well, the answer is, nothing… and everything. The Barbadian primary school system is designed to have our graduates fly… wherever they go. Shirley Chisholm was one too. In her words: “Those early years of my life on the island of Barbados gave me the spirit, gave me the spunk that was necessary to challenge all these age-old traditions.”
Shirley Chisholm was a school teacher born to immigrant parents. She was the first black woman elected to congress. She was the first black major party candidate to run for president of the USA. “Unbought and unbossed” was her slogan. She was running for the democratic nomination for the president of the United States when leaders were being killed all around her… Martin Luther King… Malcolm X… Bobby Kennedy.
This little woman whom Barbados put the fire in, thought so much of herself that she created a movement to get herself on the ticket to be THE Democratic nominee for President of the United States of America. But its women’s collectives and its black collectives thought so little of themselves, that they did not see the brilliance, the potential, the fire in her oratory. As a result, they did not give her the one thing she needed from them, their support, their backing. Her failure was an indictment of American social conscience, not her ability. She afterwards called her blackness and her femaleness, handicaps. Barack Obama, we can say, overtook that ‘handicap’. Let us see whether Kamala Harris can show the world that femaleness and blackness are indeed advantages, values, and benefits.
Shirley Chisholm’s character, grit, and competence shone through as she worked in Congress to develop and work, convincing both blacks and women of their worth. Barbados celebrates one we fired up and let loose to fly. We fire up thousands of children each day, giving our students what we gave Shirley Chisholm. I am looking forward to seeing them surpassing her in whatever area they choose to excel and pioneer in.
Shirley Chisholm, we celebrate you.
Michelle Cave
