‘It’s about time’: Shirley Chisholm, first black congresswoman, will get a statue

Chisholm is finally being put on a pedestal amid a wider re-examination of her achievements and significance

Erin Durkin in New York
Wed 5 Dec 2018 11.00 GMT

Fifty years after she became the first black woman elected to Congress, Shirley Chisholm is finally being put on a pedestal amid a wider re-examination of her achievements and significance.

New York City will erect a statue of Chisholm – also the first black person and the first woman to run for the Democratic presidential nomination – outside Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, officials recently announced.

The city estimates there are 150 statues of male historical figures on city property – but just five of historical women. In Manhattan’s Central Park alone, there are 23 statues – and the only female figure is Alice in Wonderland, a fictional little girl.

“That’s pretty illustrative of just how screwed up the situation is,” said deputy mayor Alicia Glen. “Central Park is the most visited park in the United States. If the only woman people see in the most visited park in the United States is a made up woman, we have a serious problem on our hands.”

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