Activities continue to commemorate Shirley Chisholm centennial

Activities continue to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Shirley Chisholm, an African American with Barbadian roots who was the first black woman to be elected to the United States Congress and the first African-American woman to seek the Democratic presidential nomination.

On Tuesday, representatives from the Division of Culture launched the Shirley Chisholm Project with a heritage tour that began at the Shirley Chisholm Primary School in Vauxhall, Christ Church.

Senior Cultural Policy and Research Officer with the Division of Culture in the Prime Minister’s Office, Dr Sheron Johnson explained that Tuesday’s event would serve as a template for five other schools that will also participate in the tour.

“They’re going to hear about the places [Chisholm] would have lived, where she would have run through as a child, where she would have gone to school, the people she would have met. That is important for them in understanding and appreciating who Shirley Chisholm was,” John said.

Tuesday’s ceremony also saw the launch of a primary school art competition.

Project Coordinator for the Shirley Chisholm Project, Erica Hinkson said submissions of paintings and drawings should be centred around equality, character building and education.

The pieces should be saved in jpeg or png format and submitted via email by November 30 to honourChisholm@nls.gov.bb. Submissions should include the student’s name, contact number and the name of the School. The student, art teacher and winning school will all receive awards.

Shirley Chisholm Committee Chair, Rodney Grant spoke about the significance of the centennial celebration, noting that Chisholm had “done exceptionally well in terms of putting us on the international map”.

“The idea of this year’s celebration is to reintroduce her to Barbados,” he said.

Pointing to Chisholm’s character and the inspiration Barbadians can gain from her life, Grant said: “You will find that we focus very much on the things that she stood for – things like equality, standing up for minorities, gender justice, education as an aspect of character building – and these very things that she stood for are important to us as we showcase her as a Barbadian of exemplary character who has done well. And it forms part of our memorialisation efforts.”

During the month, the Division of Culture will also distribute Shirley Chisholm memorabilia at several national events, including the Independence Day parade and the final of the Prime Minister’s Cup football competition.

Chisholm was born on November 30, 1924.

(LG)