She was the first Black woman elected to Congress . The first Black woman to run for president in the Democratic Party .
( U . S . Library of Congress )
Congress . The first Black woman to run for president in the Democratic Party . And , as we approach ( Chisholm ’ s ) 100th birthday , Vice President Kamala Harris could be the next president of the United States – if we do the work to get her elected . Vice President Harris can break through this glass ceiling because of Congresswoman Chisholm .”
Lee , who was first elected to Congress in 1998 and is retiring this year , was a Chisholm delegate at the Democratic Party ’ s Convention in 1972 . It was Chisholm ’ s maverick brand of politics that encouraged Lee to pursue a political career , the California Democrat said during a CNN interview earlier this year .
Chisholm ’ s trailblazing also led to the election of the first Black woman to the U . S . Senate . Carol Moseley Braun represented Illinois in the upper chamber of Congress from 1993 to 1999 . Chisholm ’ s work also laid a foundation for former First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to seek the Democratic Party ’ s presidential nomination in 2016 . Clinton won the nomination but lost the General Election that year to Republican Donald Trump .
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