"[Crowd Applauding]" "[Cheering]" "I stand before you today... as a candidate for the Democratic nomination... for the presidency of the United States of America." "[Chisholm, Continuing] I am not the candidate ofblack America... although I am black and proud,." "I am 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 the candidate of the people of America" "[Applauding]" "and my presence before you... now symbolizes a new era in American political history." "Americans all over are demanding a new sensibility... a new philosophy of government from Washington." "Our will can create a new America... in 1972-- one where there's freedom from violence and war... at home and abroad,. where there's freedom from poverty and discrimination,." "where there exists, at least, a feeling that we are making progress... in assuring for everyone medical care, employment, and decent housing." "Those of you who can now vote for the first time... those of you who agree with me... that the institutions of this country... belong to all of the people who inhabit it... those of you who have been neglected... left out, ignored... forgotten or shunned aside for whatever reason... give me your help at this hour." "Join me in an effort to reshape our society... and regain control of our destiny... as we go down the "Chisholm Trail" for 1972." "####[Jazz Flute]" "[Male Announcer] Direct from our newsroom in New York... this is the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite." "A new hat-- rather, a bonnet-- was tossed into the Democratic presidential race today... that of Mrs. Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman to serve in congress." " How do you feel this morning?" " Oh, I" " I feel wonderful." "It's one of the most, uh, marvelous things that can happen... in our country at this moment, that for the first time in the history of this nation... a person of color, and a woman at that... is running for the highest office of this land." "And it's a wonderful thing to know that, in spite of the many obstacles in my path... that there's such a large cross-section of America... who is behind me, and saying, "Why not?"" "Why not dare to dream like so many others have dreamt before me?" "So I'm very excited, and, uh, I feel fine." "Well, in 1972, I was a student at Mills College... in Oakland, California." "I was president of the black student union." "I had two young sons, and I was on public assistance." "During that same time, as president of the black student union... we invited Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm from New York... and during her speech, she said she was running for president." "I says, "Who is this wom-- She's runnin' for what?"" ""President." I said, "President of what?"" "[Chuckles] Barbara Lee said, "President of the United States, Sandy."" "I said, "Oh, she got to be crazy." You know, I said, "I got to meet her."" "The hour has come in America... when all of us in this room... can no longer be the passive recipients... of whatever the politics of a nation may decree for us as citizens within this realm." "But if we have the courage of our convictions... if we desire to make a contribution, to make this nation bring about... the fulfillment of the American Dream... so that it is meaningful to every segment in America... we will forget what the world will say, whether we're in our place or out of our place." "I have never ever had that kind of impact... on me as a-- as a human being." "Not as a woman." "Not as African American." "Not as a mother." "Not as an educator." "But as a human being." "[Lee] And so, after her speech, I went up... and I said, "Mrs. Chisholm, I want to learn more." ""And I want to contact people who are in your campaign." "So how do I go about doing that?"" "And she says, "Well, my dear... the first thing you must do is register to vote."" "I said, "Oh, my God." I said, "O-kay."" "So that was the first time that I thought about registering to vote." "I was awestruck, and I could not believe that this great woman was running for president." "We had a right... to invoke our citizenship." "Martin Luther King had said once, you know... that the most radical act that African-American people could engage in... was to assert the full measure of their citizenship." "And here's this black woman asserting her citizenship." "Saying, "I choose to run for the presidency of the United States..." ""and I will challenge this country to deal with me seriously... and I will raise the issues that I think are issues that need to be dealt with."" " ####[Funk] - ##Hey ##" "And in 1972, this was incredible." "####[Funk Continues]" "[Woman] When she went out into the country, she would talk to any group." "She didn't care if you were old, if you were young... if you were black,you were white, you were Hispanic... this was a maiden voyage for everybody." "We are here today to express our support for Shirley Chisholm... and our commitment to the new coalition of women." "[Woman #2] Chisholm's campaign was filled with... white women from the women's movement." "And they worked their butts off for her." "The United States Constitution stipulates that anyone... that is 35 years of age or over and is a natural- born citizen can run for the presidency." "All of us meet that criteria." "The people will make a decision." "I think she has a lot of guts, and I really stand up to her." "I think that she, uh" " It takes a lot of nerve for a black woman... to run for the president of the United States." " [Woman] What do you know about Shirley Chisholm?" " I know she's a congresswoman." "Black." "Uh, not too much more." "####[Funk Continues]" "Think of what the people want from you." "The people want a black man for the vice-presidency of this country on that ticket." "The people want a woman to be the head of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare." "The people want an Indian-- and there are educated Indians in this country-- to be the head of the Department of the Interior... the department which controls the lives of the Indian people on their reservations." "What we are saying is that, if you understand power... you will know what it is that I am trying to put together." "[Man] She always motivated you." "She demonstrated by her acts and deeds... and then challenged you to not have excuses why you can't." "Shirley Chisholm, tomorrow." "I think Shirley Chisholm is a very capable candidate." "I think she's favorable... to, uh, problems in the black community." "I think she'd make a fine president." "[Over Public Address] Do not forget." "Tomorrow, there is a primary." "Vote for the Chisholm slate, the unbossed candidate." "Vote for a president who represents peoplejust like you and myself." "I think the one issue that would make me stand out among the other candidates... is my integrity and the principles on which I stand." "Everyone knows that Shirley Chisholm is unbossed and she's unbought." "[Man] Shirley Chisholm was a typical West Indian." "Her mother was from Barbados, and her father was from Guyana." "I was impressed with this woman." "The way she carried herself, her intelligence" "Shirley Anita St. Hill was a little girl... who was three years old when her mother took her... to the island of Barbados in the West Indies." "And the reason my mother took me there was because... she wanted to return to this country and work with my father." "Because, in her head, all she wanted was to make sure... she would be able to buy a home for the family... and also, to educate her four girls." "She wanted all of us to have a college education." "That was very important to her." "So, I went there, and I stayed for seven years." "####[Steel Drums]" "[Woman] When you started school here in Barbados... you went right into reading and writing and arithmetic." "There was no such thing as kindergarten, and playing around with paper... and,you know,you came to learn how to read and write... and--[Chuckles] and do sums, as they said." "[Chisholm] The school was one great, big room." "It was very noisy, because the different teachers... in different sections of the room were carrying'on, and were teaching." "That's how we learned." " ####[Soft Jazz] - [Woman] We left Barbados in 1934... and finally, the home became a reality in 1945... when my father and mother bought a brownstone in Brooklyn." "[Man] Her mother was a nice person, the West Indian mother." "She would cook, she would wash, she would clean" "Her father was a very important factor in this, because... he loved her, and he was one of those people that read a lot." "[Shirley] My father's name was Charles." "He was a union man." "Very much-- Very much a union man." "And he was also a Garveyite." "And he used to tell me about the great Marcus Garvey... from Jamaica, and he used to tell me about the politics that was goin'on at that time." "I learned a lot about Roosevelt... because he adored Franklin Delano Roosevelt." "A lot of my political influence came from Pops." "[Slide Changing]" "[Shirley, Narrating] This is a picture of me during the days I was a director... of a day care center in Manhattan." "[Slide Changing]" "Of course, this is the day that we decided we were meant for each other." "We got married in October, 1949." "[Slide Changes]" "This picture was taken of me when I was in the New York State Assembly." "When I spoke to the members on the floor that day, they said..." ""There goes the schoolteacher. "" "[Changes]" "This was the picture that was taken... when I won my victory by being the first black woman... elected to the United States Congress." "It was a very, very strenuous campaign." "[Changes]" "Oh, this last picture of me is a snapshot of me running for president of the United States." "[Clapping, Cheering]" "[Man] Shirley Chisholm running for president, that was an important activity." "How could I not join the crusade to shake up this country?" "She was so up front." "She was willing to take on these guys... the white establishment, on the issues of the war-- the Vietnam War-- on Head Start" " She was out there fighting on every single issue." "We'd had the Voting Rights Act, we'd had the Civil Rights Act" "There was a grassroots movement, I mean, people who had never participated... in political thought and political ideas... uh, were now doing it." "People started to say it's time... for the body politic to truly represent America." "And African Americans, black folks at that time... were saying it's time for us to have representation." "[Man Narrating] Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm doesn't play by the rules." "As a freshman member of the House of Representatives, Mrs. Chisholm defied tradition... by refusing assignment to the Agriculture Committee... telling the powerful leaders of the House that the work of that committee... was irrelevant to the needs ofher constituency." "Her community is the 12th Congressional District of Brooklyn... which includes the predominately black, predominately poor neighborhood..." " of Bedford-Stuyvesant." " When I went there, I was very, very... unhappy, to be truthful about it." "Because you never had a black woman sat in the United States Congress before." "And they all stood back." "Stood away from me." "I felt that I was somebody coming out of the moon." "Some of those men thought I had horns in my head... because of what they had heard and felt about me." "Of course, the media had said she's a fighting woman... uh, you know, she doesn't take anything from anybody." "I think they thought I was coming down there to take them on immediately." "So you had this particular representative from a certain state... and every day I would come into the chamber, and... he would say..." "[Southern Accent] "Ms. Chisholm, how you doin'?"" "I said, "I'm feelin' pretty well."" ""My!" "Imagine, making 42-five, like me."" "I said, "What did you say?"" ""Ms. Chisholm, you makin' 42-five like me." This is what I kept hearing." " "42-five!" So finally, one day, it was just too much." " [Chuckling]" "I said two things." "First of all... since you can't stand the idea of my making "42-five" like you... when you see me coming into this chamber each day, vanish." "Vanish until I take my seat, so you won't have to confront me with this 42-five." "I said secondly, you must remember I'm paving the road for a lot of other people... lookin' like me to make "42-five"!" "Shirley Chisholm is one member of the House... and a relatively junior member of the House." "So she wasn't treated as a player-- a person of serious consequence." "So when she started to run for-- or announced her interest in running for president..." "I think the prevailing media reaction in Washington-- remember, this is the "inside the Beltway," jaded D.C. press corps-- uh, was, "Who the hell is she?"" "[Applauding]" "Hi." "How are ya doin'?" "Sorry I'm late." "[Reporter] Maine Senator Edmund Muskiejumps out front... in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination." "He is quicklyjoined by Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm... first woman, and first black, to be a serious contender." "Mayor Lindsay..." "Senator HenryJackson, and old warhorse Hubert Humphrey alsojoin the chase." "Grasping the busing and the welfare issues as the keynotes ofhis campaign..." "Alabama's George Wallace hits the trail." "Given only an outside chance, South Dakota Senator George McGovern... is the choice of the nation's college youth." "The previous presidential election year was sort of a bloodbath." "Uh, assassinations." "King, Bobby Kennedy... and the war tore the party apart-- Johnson declined to run for reelection" "So, '72, those wounds were still wide open." "Not a whole lot of attention was being focused on Nixon, and his ills." "[Male Chorus] ##Nixon now ##" "##More than ever We need Nixon now ##" "##Nixon now, Nixon now ##" "##More than ever We need Nixon now ####" "[Gottlieb] Richard Nixon reflected the very worst... in American politics before that 1972 election." "The only way we're gonna get our P.O.W.'s back... is to be doing something to them." "That means, hitting military targets in North Vietnam... retaining a residual force in South Vietnam... and continuing the mining of the harbors of North Vietnam." "####[Reggae]" "Vietnam is still going on." "Thousands and thousands of people my age... are dying, because white politicians were sending them off to war." "So it wasn't an aberration for students on college campuses... to say, "You know what?" "Going to class is important..." ""but not nearly as important as going to the demonstration... or marching down in Washington to stop the war."" "Because we were yelling to our government, it's wrong." "It's a new world." "It's a new generation." "We really believed that." "We were issue-driven." "And the issue of paramount importance... to us was the Vietnam war." "And I was also-- I'm 18, I was of draft age." "We are certifying the 26th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States." "That amendment, as you know, provides for the right to vote... of all of our young people between 18 and 21-- eleven million new voters as a result of this amendment." "And I was very firmly of the opinion that the only real way... to end the war was to win an election." "[Muskie] The war is no longer a political issue." "What is now happening in Indochina... is a moral issue." "If I were president of the United States... it would take me approximately 24 hours, at the most... with the stroke of a pen, to indicate that we're going to terminate... all American military operations in Southeast Asia." "Over 75% of our budget is being spent to... continue an immoral war in Vietnam... and yet we have a domestic war here at home, uh... in terms of the crisis in our cities-- there is something wrong in our nation." "You have a first tier and a second tier and a third tier." "I would say, in 1972..." "Shirley Chisholm was probably in the fifth tier." "It's often said about somebody who is black and female... in the business world, that she's a twofer." "In terms of, that's a positive thing." "The twofer that Shirley Chisholm had was a negative in politics." "The newspaper, reportedly, has ordered repolling of a Democratic survey... showing a sharp drop in Senator Edmund Muskie's lead." "[Witcover] The opening of the campaign, really, was... generally considered to be the New Hampshire primary." "Muskie was the heavy favorite, coming from a neighboring state... he had been involved in helping to build the Democratic party in New Hampshire." "So going in there, the expectations were very high." "[Mike Wallace] No one was paying much attention to New Hampshire." "After all, only two of the major Democratic candidates were entered here..." "Muskie and McGovern-- the only question here was... how big would Muskie win?" "When Senator Edmund Muskie got up in front of the Manchester Union Leader... a week ago, and called its publisher "a gutless coward and a liar,"" "and then choked up and then began to weep... something changed in the New Hampshire primary." "By attacking me, by attacking my wife... he's proved himself to be a gutless coward." "It's fortunate for him, he's not on this platform beside me." " [Horn Honking Frantically]" " She's a good woman" "[Witcover] It was written at the time that he lost control and started to cry." "But nevertheless, he won the New Hampshire primary... but failed to receive 50% of the vote... and it was looked on, unfortunately for him, as a defeat." "With 22 primaries still to go in this Campaign '72... the politicians now are shifting their efforts... from New Hampshire's snow to Florida's sand." "[Reporter] Florida Democratic politics have always been undisciplined." "So it seems natural there should be a record number of... presidential candidates in Florida's first primary." "Thirteen people running for the presidency." "And we were all out" "They said we were taking votes away from each other." "Muskie really thought that he, uh, he should have the lead, really." "That he was the most important thing." "And he, uh" " He had a crying jag." "And that threw him out of the campaign." "Jackson, from Washington-- Senator "Scoop"Jackson?" "He was scared of me." "Wilbur Mills." "He said, "Well, Shirley and I, we are the end of the scale."" "But he was half drunk most of the time." "And Humphrey?" "Yeah, Humphrey." "Humphrey was kind of nice." "He wasn't too bad." "Lindsay thought" " Lindsay tried to get me out of the campaign... because I was leading Lindsay in the state of Florida." "And this got to him." "He said, "Shirley." "You are cutting me out of the race." "You're ahead of me!" "I want you to step back." "You should know--" I said, "No, my time has come."" "####[Woman, Folk]" "[Ralph Abernathy] A few years ago, we could not stand here on the steps of this courthouse." " And have this type of rally." " [Cheers]" "A few years ago, we did not have a black woman... with the courage and the tenacity and the bravery of Shirley Chisholm." "They won't be able to take us for granted... because we will have what it is they all need to get across the top..." " and that is delegates" " D-E-L-E-G-A-T-E-S!" " [Cheering]" "####[Continues]" "[Harry Reasoner] The Florida primary will be notable for two things.." "the crowded field of Democratic presidential candidates... and the dominant issue of court-ordered school busing." "The central issue is quality education for all of our children." "Nobody has proposed, and I don't support... busing to achieve racial balance." "Neither of the political parties, for different reasons... really responded to all of their traditional constituencies." "That's one reason why I think young people were attracted to Chisholm." "Of course, busing is not the issue, really." "Because, for years, in this country... in Mississippi, in Georgia and Alabama... nothing but busing went on." "But it was busing-- It was busing of black children." "This shows" " This shows... the double standards in our country." "I'm the only candidate in this race that has consistently opposed... the busing of little children to kingdom come." "[Giddings] It was also a reason why so many whites... who were traditional Democrats were attracted... to another populist candidate... on the completely other end of the spectrum.." "George Wallace." "And I say, segregation now, segregation tomorrow... and segregation forever." "...alter their positions, but when they were needed to stop busing... in the Senate in the United States... they were not there-- they were against the people of Florida on that matter." "[Male Announcer] Apaid political announcement by Florida Citizens for Wallace." "I don't know who did it." "I don't know whose idea it was... but they had myself and George Wallace pictured together." "Yeah, the American Gothic, and they had it circulating all over Florida... and oh, goodness" "There's certain things in politics that you cannot stop." "You just can't stop them." "Just have to grin and bear it." "[Woman] What do you think of Shirley Chisholm?" "I think she's a wonderful person." "Do you know what she stands for?" "Yes, I think she stands for, um, civil rights." "I'm all for it." "I think she's a very brilliant woman... and, uh, probably will be successful." "I think she has a combination of wanting more representation for black people and for women." "I think she's a competent woman, and a competent black person." "But I don't think she has a chance of being president." "Sure." "If Mrs. Chisholm's not able to achieve the nomination... then why is she out here running all over, trying to get a delegate in one state... three in another state, six in another and five" "What is she doing?" "What is she up to?" "The fact of the matter is, that we cannot continue... to take things as they are... when we see around us that government is not responsive... to certain segments of the population." "And even if I'm not able to achieve the nomination... to the extent that I go to that convention with delegate strength." "Delegate strength." "Because that's the name of the game." "You can go to the convention." "You can yell, "Woman Power, here I come!"" " [Audience Chuckling]" " You can yell, "Black Power, here I come."" "White Power." "Any kind of thing." "The only thing that those hard-nosed boys... are going to understand at that convention-- "How many delegates you got?"" "[Shirley Downs] She believed that everybody... can be, uh, represented." "People who were afraid." "People who didn't believe in the system." "The true, the right, and the beautiful." "Hello, there." "How are you?" "How are you doing?" "Good to see you again." "Good to see you." "All right." "[Shirley] There's another thing that I've been watching in the total campaign... that's been very interesting to me." "And that is, whether or not the black people... are, uh, politically sophisticated enough... to be aware of the fact... that my candidacy... is not to be regarded as a candidacy from which I can win the presidency... of this country at this moment... but a candidacy that is paving the way for... people of other ethnic groups, including blacks... to run and perhaps win the office." "Or do we-- are we suffering so much from the inculcation of certain values... in America that even black people can't even conceive at this point... that a black person should even run for president." "[Male Reporter] How do you explain the reluctance of the Black Caucus to support you?" "I think the reluctance of the Black Caucus to support me, in the beginning... is the same kind of reluctance that you find from most men in America... towards women in the political arena." "It has nothing to do with any animosity or hatred or feeling towards me... it's a-- it's a-- female-male syndrome... feelings about politics in America, so I" "[Woman] You do have the support of Ron Dellums, however." "I have the support of Ron Dellums and about five other members... of the Black Caucus right now, and they're the ones that I would hope-- that I would want to support me." "There were three men in the Black Caucus that really supported me... and helped me:" "Parrin Mitchell, from Baltimore... uh, Ron Dellums, California... and John Conyers, half and half." "He couldn't make his mind up." "Yes, but" " But Ron Dellums, he was fantastic." "Well, remember, now, again." "This is the early '70s." "Against the backdrop of the 1960s." "And the Congressional Black Caucus came into being essentially saying..." ""Look, we're a handful of African Americans." ""And our strength lies both in our unity and in our diversity." ""And we need to come together..." ""in order to speak to the interests... of black people across the country."" "But once you get to presidential politics... as one of my colleagues used to say, everybody's got their own agenda." "[Rep. Fauntroy] Shirley was the first African-American woman... in the Congress, and was a star... among our initial Congressional Black Caucus." "I remember a meeting we had in Washington... with the newly-formed caucus." "I had tojump up and embarrass them." "I said, "What would be" " I mean, what's" " Why is this great thing..." ""about Shirley Chisholm running for president?" ""Number one, if we are being realistic... we know none of y'all gonna be the president."" "There was no hostility towards Shirley's running." "In fact, we hoped that she would be able to bring... a sufficient number of women marginal voters... to the table in a delegate situation." "So she found herself more or less isolated." "The fact that she was a woman, uh, emphasized that." "Another political note." "A black politics convention is assembling in Gary, Indiana." " ABC's Lem Tucker reports." " [Tucker] Arriving here from across the country... represent thinking ranging from the conservative N.A.A.C.P. to the militant Black Panthers." "They hope to bridge that gap in order to gain more political clout." "And they're here to plot the future for black Americans." "Unity is their key word." "First, the unification of black people." "Diverse groups of black people." "The creation of a unified political culture." "And secondly, to try to transform our potential... through structure, into power." "All in favor of adopting... the National Black Agenda... as stipulated by the New York motion... please signify by raising your hands." "[Shirley] Thaddeus Garrett was on my staff." "He died." "He was the person that went to Gary, Indiana... to really try to get the members of the black groups... to support me for the presidency." "[Amiri Baraka] I think, by not coming to Gary, she played into their hands." "Because, I mean,you know, Coretta King was there..." "Betty Shabazz was there, you know-- Shirley Chisholm should have been there." "[Tucker] The National Black Political Convention spent most of their two days... bogged down in procedural problems." "The closest vote of the night came on whether to endorse... a presidential political candidate." "Backers of Shirley Chisholm had worked hard for her endorsement." "Ohio seconds the motion that the National Black Political Convention... not be-- not endorse at this time any candidate for president of the United States." "All those in favor of accepting that motion..." " signify by raising your hand to say, "Aye." - [Crowd] Aye.!" " Opposed?" " [Crowd] No.!" "[Shirley] Theyjust couldn't support me... because, more than anything else..." "I was a woman." "Running for the presidency." "A woman." "That got them." "But Shirley, you have to stay in their faces." "You see?" "You have to stay in their faces." "You cannot then withdraw out of like, you know" "You're just drugged, or you're not gonna do it, or you think they oppose you" "We know what the story is, but you have to stay in their faces... because, by being in their faces, you're also in the people's faces." "You see?" "And nobody can state your case as clearly as you can." "What made Shirley Chisholm frightening to you?" "Her "woman-ness"?" "Her blackness?" "Her black "woman-ness"?" "Her progressive thoughts?" "Did she have the audacity to take the historical moment... that you were too slow to take?" ""You," meaning whoever's out there." "You know?" "What was it?" "What was the problem?" "####[Funk]" "[Giddings] In some ways, it's very exciting and romantic... this kind oflone, kind of,you know, woman... who's driven by a vision." "But at the same time, a lot of people felt... that she was undermining social movements... that gained their power in some ways... by the perception of a unified front." "Black women were not valued." "Are not particularly valued." "White men, highest value." "Um, white women, black men-- black women." "How do you not,you know, fall into that psychologically?" "How do you not accept the idea... that you are less than other people?" "There was a frustration that black women had... of being marginalized in the civil rights movement... as well as in a predominately white women's movement-- that they, sort of, had fallen between the cracks, so to say." "And this was a period when women were finding their voices-- black women in unprecedented ways-- and they were in different arenas, you know, there was literature... and then there was the Shirley electoral politics." "So there was a great deal" " There was another kind of individualism... and sense of liberation in this period." "[Female Narrator] What about Pam?" "You can tell your mother, Harold." " What, Ma?" " Her job." "Is it working out?" " Great, Mother,just great." " But can she still take care of you?" "She does fine, Mom." "Really." "[Tom Asher] Women were perceived as really nice." "There had not yet been a recognition of equality in most professions." "[Brownmiller] It was an age in which a married woman... couldn't have a department store credit card in her own name." "She had to be Mrs. So-and-so, because there was the assumption that the husband... was paying the bills." "The insurance on a car for an unmarried woman... was much higher than it was for any other category... because the insurance companies had the nerve to say... that any unmarried woman with a car... would be letting her boyfriends drive that car... so she would be an extra insurance risk." "All these things were considered natural... until the explosion of the women's movement." "But it was particularly unnatural... for a woman to have ambition." "[Helen Reddy] ##I am woman, hear me roar ##" "##In numbers too big to ignore ##" "##And I know too much To go back and pretend ##" "## Oh,yes, I am wise But it's wisdom born of pain ##" "## Yes, I paid the price But look how much I gained ##" "##If I have to I can do anything ####" "For over 15 years of my life... my brain power has been utilized... and yet, not when the professional politicians... but when the people say, "We want Shirley Chisholm to move out of congress,"" "these same politicians whom I helped to keep put together... in order for them to be acceptable to the public... had the nerve to get together and say, "We don't want to put her in... because she is a woman, but we will represent the women--"" "We don't need anybody to represent us!" " [Cheering]" " We have people in this country that have the brain power... and the ability to move up." "I'm going to run for a delegate for Shirley Chisholm." "I ask all women in Manhattan... who would like to have a real voice to come to these open caucuses Monday night." "[Woman] Much of the leadership in N.O. W. was supportive of Shirley Chisholm." "Other leaders in the women's movement whojust had a different strategy." "You go with a candidate who can possibly win... rather than using all that energy on someone, you know... cannot win, even if they're with you on all the issues." "[Woman] There's been some confusion in another area... whether you will or you will not endorse Shirley Chisholm." "No, that's no confusion at all." "What I have said is very clear." "Shirley Chisholm views her candidacy as a representation... of the right of a woman and a black to run for the highest office in this land." "[Shirley] That movement was led by Bella Abzug." "She used to say that I will support Shirley Chisholm." "Shirley Chisholm is good." "She's articulate." "She knows" "But when the time came, she couldn't do it." "She just could not do it." "Out of all those women that were in our cohort..." "Gloria Steinem was the one that really kind ofheld on" " But she couldn't go all the way." "She said, "Shirley Chisholm is good for the cause and everything." "But, uh, I think George McGovern is great."" "I mean, that kind of double strategy, you know?" "Remember, again, this was Nixon." "And this was the war." "And these were really serious things, and people wanted to be, finally... you know, with someone who could win and who could change things." "And the only reason why they didn't go with her is one simple reason." "Maybe Shirley Chisholm won't say it, but I'll say it." "She was a woman, but she was black." "And they, themselves, didn't accept" "What can they say, that she was not a woman?" "So, why are you not with her?" "And from New York!" "And a liberal state!" "But she was black!" "The women didn't want me to discuss... what the black people were talking about." "The black people didn't want any of the women's programs." "It was that kind of" " And I was trying to bring everybody together." "It was a hell of a position to be in." "Really." "I wonder how I got as far as I did... during the-- during the presidential campaign." "One of the most active candidates of Campaign '72... is Shirley Chisholm of Brooklyn." "She bristles at the suggestion she step aside... lest she draw liberal votes away from other Democratic presidential contenders." "[Chisholm] Why is it, constantly quadrennially... when politicians come out from every corner to get... the most important thing you have--your vote-- why is it that it has to always be white males, white males..." " white males, white males, white males?" " [Cheering]" "So ladies and gentlemen, I conclude by saying... if you can't support me or you can't endorse me, get out of my way." "You do your thing and let me do mine." " God bless you." " [Cheering]" "One of the reasons why Mrs. Chisholm is able to make it... in spite of all of the obstacles that she has against her-- so many things against-- I'm a woman, I'm a black..." "I'm "maverick-y," I won't behave myself... the bosses can't manipulate me, white politicians don't like me, black politicians don't like me." "You know what why your sister is able to sustain all this?" "She has something that none of them can take from her-- brain power." " Yes, sir." " Plus, white people wouldn't think... that a woman, that a lady would be in office." "That's not only white people." "Black people too, son." "There are a lot ofblack politicians that don't think a woman should run for president." "See?" "Because a woman doesn't run for president in the United States of America." "That's why I'm trying to break the barriers." "You'd be the first woman who ever ran for president." "I'm the first woman who ever ran seriously for president." "They might have been running, but it wasn't a serious thing." "It was a symbolic gesture." "They didn't go out and try to get delegates and go up and down this country... and tell people, "Vote for me" or "Support me because I want to be president."" "They didn't do that." "You see?" "I'm the first woman in this country running seriously... because I've been on the trail for the past seven months." "Well, look, I wish had more time, 'cause you all are so much more fascinating... than a lot of these politicians, but I do have to go." "Nice of you to drop by, and don't forget to study hard." " Good luck." " Thank you." "I'm paving the way for you." "Okay?" "So you don't disappoint me." "You get your education." " It was nice of you to bring 'em by." " [Woman] Thank you very much." " You're welcome." "Bye-bye, dear." " Thanks for your time." "Oh, quite all right." "Quite all right." "Okay." "Bye-bye." " Bye." " Bye." "Roger, that's why I'm doing this." "It's the only reason." "Honest to God, with everything going against me." "There are two words that I think have to be... in a sense blocked out, scratched out on the billboard... or the blackboard of the American scene." "You take the word "hate" and the word "yesterday"... and draw an "X" through both of them, erase them, cancel them out... because both of them leave us with less than nothing." "On the other side, or once you've erased those two words... or on the other side of the ledger, put over the word "love" and "tomorrow."" "[Man Announcing] Vote for Hubert Humphrey for president." "We used to get, uh, little hate mail... with all kinds of, uh, things saying..." ""Who the bleep, bleep, bleep do you think you are that you can run for president?"" "She just couldn't believe that people, um, were that way." "[Gottlieb] I arrive at an airport in North Carolina, and I'm traveling alone." "I go to pick up my brochures and my bumper stickers." "So inside these boxes were "Chisholm for President."" "There was one bumper sticker, I believe, on the outside of the boxes." "And I go to that carousel that you go to pick up your luggage... and in this case, my boxes of bumper stickers... and when I went to pick it up, scrawled all over it was, "Nigger go home."" "Oh, I was-- I was attacked three times... during the course of my presidential campaign." "Uh, one of them, I was very fortunate." "He had a knife with a 10-inch blade." "He was going to stab me in my back." "That's why he was moving behind me constantly-- but he wanted to close to me to stab me, because he said, "I want to get her good. "" "And they took him in." "But, uh, I had that happen to me." "I don't like to talk about them." "I really don't." "I really don't." "[Chattering, Indistinct]" " [Gunshots] - [People Screaming]" "Good evening." "Alabama governor George Wallace was shot... and critically wounded today at a campaign rally in Laurel, Maryland." "[Robles] If George Wallace was singled out for an attempted assassination..." "I thank God that that never happened to her." "But every day I used to worry in fear." "That's why, I guess, I became so close." "I would have given my life... to make sure that Shirley Chisholm would continue to be what she is." "The political effect of today's shooting is hard to measure." "The governor was favored in tomorrow's Maryland and Michigan primaries, and still is." "Doubtless, there will be a large sympathy vote for Governor Wallace... in addition to the basic strength he already has." "Roger Mudd, CBS News, Washington." "In the meantime, the people on the welfare, sure... in turn, they are receiving money there for doing nothing." "Yeah, but the way it works now,you're paying both for the guy on welfare... and you're paying for the fat cats at the top... that aren't paying their fair share of the tax load." "What I am proposing is that we provide a guaranteedjob... for everybody that wants to work... and require that as a condition of welfare, the person be unable to work." "[Man Announcing] McGovern." "Democrat." "For the people." "Reporters covering you had been trying quite some time to get a price tag on your welfare bills." "Can you tell us today how much it'll cost?" "There is no way, Mr. Schoumacher, that you can make an exact estimate." "[Witcover] The candidates who are getting a lot of attention... continue to get a lot of attention... and the ones who don't get have a hard time getting any." "A kind of a pecking order grows out of things that the candidates say... but also the very arbitrary judgment of reporters... of who's up and who's down." "Oh, the media." "Don't talk about the media." "The media says, you know, "Shirley Chisholm is half crazy." ""Oh, she's smart and everything, but she knows she can't be president." "What is she taking up our time for?" and what have you." "[Asher] Shirley Chisholm came to me... and it was all over a candidate debate... among Democratic candidates in California... and she had asked to be included... and, uh, was turned down." "They wouldn't-- Every candidate" "Even candidates that I was beating in races across the country" "Because, don't forget, there were 13 of us." "We ran into the court of appeals, filed an emergency appeal." "It was like a mandatory injunction ordering the F.C.C.... to order the broadcasters to include her." "Good evening." "I'm Nat Hentoff, moderator of tonight's press panel..." ""Time for Shirley Chisholm."" "[Chisholm] They never dreamt that I was going to take the case all the way to court." "They couldn't understand-- And I won." "Oh, boy." "[Chuckling] I won." "[Man] From Los Angeles, Senator Hubert Humphrey, Democrat of Minnesota,." "Senator George McGovern, Democrat of South Dakota,." "and from New York City, Representative Shirley Chisholm, Democrat of New York." "ABC News originally had invited Senator McGovern and Senator Humphrey... the two leading candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination... to appear on this program." "Friday night, the Federal Appeals Court in Washington, D.C.... ruled that Mrs. Chisholm must also be invited to participate." "If in fact the question does come down... to a choice between Hubert Humphrey and George McGovern... uh, whom would you support?" "I am not supporting any one man just on the basis of supporting a man." "I am sick and tired of promises and rhetoric, and a lot of people are in this country." "I think it is important to see what the team will be like." "I will be very much interested in seeing who will be with Mr. Humphrey... and who will be with Mr. McGovern in terms of the team." "The vice presidency of this country is becoming very, very important... and we just can't depend on thinking in terms of the top person on the ticket... without giving some consideration to the second person on the ticket." "So I am not gonna make unilateral decision just on that basis." "If your own candidacy for the top spot should fail... would you actively seek to be on the ticket?" "Are you now saying that you think you could serve... as vice president of the United States, strengthening the ticket." "I can serve as the president of this country, believe it or not." " I phrased my question badly." "Let me try it again." " That's why I'm running." "I didn't have many signs that indicated I was doing the right thing." "Really." "I really didn't have-- People were looking at me askance." "American history is filled with people who are Don Quixotes... when it comes to presidential politics... and they run." "They run whether or not they have a chance." "The idea that people are fearless and that's why they're taking action" "I think it's more like-- it's more important to recognize... that they're terrified and they're still taking action." "That they know exactly what they're risking, and they still risk it." "And if nothing else, I'm finding all over America... that people are sick and tired of the tweedledee-dees and the tweedledee-dums... who constantly flip-flap from one side to another." "People are interested in having candidates that are truthful... candidates that have, if you will... just a tiny bit of morality and a tiny bit of integrity... and people that they believe they can go to sleep at night and know... that they are not selling them out or selling out the communities in which they live." "The black vote will play a large part... in the Democratic presidential primary in California next Tuesday." "Catherine Mackin has a report on how the two men... plus a third candidate, Representative Shirley Chisholm... are going after those black votes." "[Mackin] Hubert Humphrey's message to black people in California is a direct one." "Ladies and gentlemen, I was there." "When you needed me, I was there." "Now, dear friends, I need you this time." "[Mackin] George McGovern's approach to the black community... is exactly the opposite of Humphrey's." "He is relying on that respected army of volunteers he has... and those volunteers have canvassed black communities all over the state." "Shirley Chisholm is the unknown factor in the California black vote." "She has not done well in other primaries, and certainly won't win here." "But she will take black votes from both Humphrey and McGovern, and especially McGovern." "Some individuals and some people involved... with the McGovern Campaign... and others who really did not want..." "Shirley Chisholm to run in California... because even if she only got... three or four percent of the vote... that could deprive McGovern of the nomination." "By the time the California primary came... we all were very hyped up and working very hard... because our candidate, we were determined, was gonna win." "Well, I said, 'Join the Chisholm Trail, "I had flyers... uh, information about Shirley Chisholm." "People said, "Wow.!" Their response was as great as mine." "We feel that Shirley Chisholm is the candidate." " There's no need to consider who else, when she can win." " [People Cheering]" "Shirley Chisholm has shown in word and in action... her support of the people's community survival programs." "Shirley Chisholm has stood up in the face of racism-- a lone black woman denouncing the sufferings of black people." "[Seale] To have Shirley Chisholm out front... is like a revolutionary act on her part... to re-evolve some of this political economic social justice party." "As candidate for president of the United States..." "Shirley Chisholm running for president was just an automatic for us." "Somebody said the other day, "With the Black Panthers endorsing you... and making contributions to your campaign, don't you damage yourself?"" "I said, "Let me tell you two things." "First, there are a lot of people... who are not gonna vote for me anyhow."" " [All Laughing]" " Never vote for me." ""Secondly, why don't you get behind the word 'Black Panthers.'" ""Get behind that word 'Black Panthers.'" ""First of all, ask yourselves, why did you have the development of such a group..." ""as the Black Panthers in this country?" ""Ask yourselves why they came into existence..." ""in the first place in this country." ""Then after you get past that stage, you should say, 'hallelujah.'" ""'Hallelujah' because they're saying that they're going to try now... to use electoral politics-- They're coming back home."" "The party actually conducted voter registration drive... and did the precinct work for Shirley's campaign... and we raised money for the campaign." "And so we were able to really put together an organization... that I think even today, as I look back, is a viable organization." "That was how I learned how to fund-raise, you know?" "The fashion shows, uh, teas." "we had dinners, we had all kinds of nightclub activities." "They had blintzes for Chisholm." "I never forgot that 'cause I didn't know what a blintz was then." "And I volunteered." "There would be a list of places and gatherings... and "coffee for Chisholm" and all kind of stuff for Chisholm." "So this was the kind... of grassroots political organizing that we did... directly into Shirley Chisholm's campaign." "I'm going to tell you something." "I'm not here" " I don't have any advance men." "I don't have any public-relations men." "You know that not only am I literally and figuratively the dark horse..." "I'm actually the poor horse." "The only thing that I have going for me is my soul... and my commitment to the American people." "She must be dynamic." "She make a man as old as me change his mind?" "My goodness." "Shirley's candidacy said, "I'm not demanding to get in." "I'm asserting my right to be here, and I am in."" "That's powerful." "Whether you got five percent of the national vote... nine percent of the national vote or one percent of the national vote." "Vote for Shirley Chisholm." "Give me a vote, because I need strength." "If I have the strength, we can get the input at that national convention." "Very important." "George McGovern won California's Democratic primary." "He got 44% of the vote..." "Hubert Humphrey got 39% ... and other candidates got the rest." "But under California law, McGovern was given all the state's huge bloc of 271 votes." "Since then, the losers have taken another look at the law... and decided to challenge it as not providing the proportional representation... urged by the party's new reforms." "California still had a winner-take-all primary... which George McGovern won the primary by really a very slim vote... but he won all the delegates." "Well, his nomination hinged on keeping intact... all 271 California votes." "[Cronkite] A challenge went today... before the Democratic Convention's credentials committee." "And that committee dealt McGovern a stunning blow." "The credentials committee decision takes away more than half... of McGovern's 271 California delegates, leaving him with 120." "Hubert Humphrey, the runner-up, got 106." "Sixteen went to George Wallace, who was a write-in candidate... and 12 to Shirley Chisholm." " [Phone Buzzing]" " Let me get through." "All right." "Hello, there." "Oh, man." "I'm a mess." "I am tired, I'm evil... and everything." "Yeah." "Yeah." "What's happening on the election thing?" "Shirley Chisholm, I think... was probably on the liberal-to-conservative spectrum... probably had very little difference between herself and McGovern... which in the eyes of some said, "Why is she running and trying to make it hard for him?"" "Interesting question." "Please understand that the reluctance... to embrace fully... a Shirley Chisholm candidacy... had nothing to do with the perception of her ability to win." "Um, it was not so much anti-woman... as it was pro-leverage." "Ladies and gentlemen of the press... my name is Walter Fauntroy... member of the Congressional Black Caucus... and leader of the delegation from the District of Columbia... to the Democratic National Convention." "Gathered here at this desk are representatives... of uncommitted delegates... to the Democratic National Convention... representing a total of 96 and three-fourths votes." "I think there is no question now... that the 96 and three-quarters delegates... who represent new additions... to the McGovern committed delegates... is enough to put us over the top... on the first ballot in Miami in July." "Oh, Carl." "You know, I tell you-- You know, i-it just gets to you." "Because as I told a lot of the delegates that were calling" "A lot of the black delegates, uncommitted delegates, were calling me yesterday." "They said, "What's going on?" I said, "I'm not part of that leadership team."" "If all the votes are delivered to McGovern... where is the leverage that black folks are going to have at this convention?" "Bye-bye." "Yeah, I gave the story to him." "He's gonna put it in the column in the Post." "You know what Fauntroy told him?" "Fauntroy told him that he talked with Mrs. Chisholm." "He told Mrs. Chisholm... that the delegates-- after he released the delegates... they could go where they wanted to go." " That" " That bastard!" " That's not what he said." "He sat here... and he said, "Shirley, you have to trust God and me. "" " Yeah!" " That's what he said." "I love Shirley Chisholm." "I loved her-her sense of conscience... her courage and determination." "Uh, and so I saw, throughout this process... her as a valuable asset... for calling public attention, particularly in the minds of African Americans... that it's our time... to register and vote and make a difference." "So that, um, I can understand her disappointment... because um, uh" "Well, I really don't understand." "We got the best candidate for our interests." "Frederick Douglass said something that she often quoted, and that was..." ""Power concedes nothing."" "It never has, it never will... without demands, without struggles." "So when you asked me the question, what was her motives?" "It was the struggle." "Power really is just a tool... and it's what you do with it that matters." "Um" "If you don't have it, someone else will." "And you'll be at their mercy." "Congresswoman, when you first entered this presidential race... you had difficulty in making people take you seriously." "Now here you are, nearing the end of the race." "You are still the only woman entered in the race, the only black candidate." "How do you see the Democratic presidential picture at this point?" "Oh, I think it's gonna be a hot time in Miami in July." "[Dellums] The convention has two functions-- to establish a platform... and to choose its candidate for president... and then embrace the choice for vice president." "It's as simple as that and as complicated as that." "Shirley Chisholm, African-American woman... decides to run for president." "She has now some delegates at the convention... and beyond simply the delegates, she also had... some capacity to draw people into the body politic." "Which, in the vernacular of politicians..." "Shirley was potentially a broker." "The way to do it in 1972 was to get enough delegates... so you could go to Miami at the convention... go into the smoke-filled rooms and say..." ""Okay, uh, McGovern." "Okay,John Lindsay." ""If you want my support, with all of my thousands of delegates..." ""you have to put this in the plank of the Democratic Party." "You have to promise to fund Head Start." "You have to promise to end the war in Vietnam."" "So I think she thought the ideal, the real victory... would be if she had enough, uh, delegates... so as an instrument she would be playing... not only to herself and for herself, but to effect change... using the power that the eventual nominee was going to have." "Oh,just excitement." "Mass of humanity, all half crazy... running around on the floor, bargaining." "You know." "It was like any other convention." "####[Festive]" "[Brownmiller] It was quite a year." "I mean, it was an incredible time." "There were more women delegates at that convention than there had ever been before." "I don't think the men at that point still realized... that this radical women's movement was going to affect... their lives so radically." "I am just so thankful that in spite of the differences of opinions... the differences of ideologies, and even sometimes within the women's movement... the differences of approaches... that here we are today-- a glorious gathering of women... which, at this moment in Miami... is being felt by every politician that is assembled here... to put together a ticket for the next four years." "That is a step in the right direction." "Today the black congresswoman and presidential candidate from Brooklyn, Shirley Chisholm... proposed that the 450 or so black delegates should stay together... for at least for one vote in the presidential balloting-- for her, of course." " My brothers and sisters, - [Man] Right on.!" "[Cheering] let me tell it to you this afternoon like it really is." "The only thing that you have going, my brothers and sisters" "There's only one thing you've got going-- your one vote." "[People Cheering]" "Don't sell that vote out." "The black people of America are watching us." "Find out what these candidates who need our votes to get across the top... are going to do for us concretely... not rhetorically." "[Cheering]" "To look on the faces of the black youth of this country... as I went from one place to another, they said..." ""Chisholm, we know what you're going through." ""We know how rough and how tough." ""But we know you have the courage, the balls, the audacity... to shake this system up within the system."" "[Cheering]" "[Clay] Sometimes I question her-her motives." "On certain" " In certain instances..." "I certainly question herjudgment." "And even at times I question her sanity." "Shirley Chisholm has been rejected at the polls... in state after state by black people." "The black delegates at this convention have a mandate from their people... not to support Shirley Chisholm." "But I wanted for the delegates at this convention... to put together a package to go to every one of these white front-runners... to deliver something to the black masses." "That's all I'm trying to do." "That's all I'm trying to do." "But you see, the black politicians are no different from the white politicians." "They've made their deals." "They've made their contracts." "And I have come down here and have eroded them completely... 'cause they didn't believe that Mrs. Chisholm knows how to maneuver and what have you." "That has always been their problem with me." ""Don't pay her any mind."" "But, you know, you can't wish me away." "You can't." "[Smith] Oh, it was hot." "It was hot and hairy." "Thad is saying, "We're not gonna make it." "We're not gonna make it." ""She's gonna get there and do something." ""She's going to get there and make somebody mad." "She's going to get there and she's gonna make a--"" "Who was supposed to-- Oh, Dellums." "I think Dellums was supposed to put her name in nomination." ""He's gonna get there, and he's gonna switch sides." "He's gonna do this--" And I think he did." "Now we see the beginnings... of a very powerful movement in this country... a movement that has only realized its potential power." "Yet at this moment, cynical, even diabolical forces... are moving to stop the candidacy of Senator George McGovern." "I therefore am now... endorsing the candidacy of Senator George McGovern." "[Dellums] If there's any kind of way that-that-that,you know... we had thought that it could have been Shirley, then that would have been fantastic." "We wouldn't even be here discussing it." "It would be the greatest moment in the history of the world." "But that wasn't about to be." "Nobody was that naive." "And so what is the wheeling and dealing all about at a certain point?" "There are two things, factors over which you have control-- your fidelity, and your willingness to show up every day for the fight." "And I showed up every day for the fight, and I was faithful to my ideas." "And at that convention, I was faithful to my politics, period, dot." "That's all it was." "[Cronkite] Good evening.Just one hour from now... the convention takes up the question of credentials... the seating of challenged delegates." "The big one here of course is California, with its 271 delegates." "The convention itself will be called upon to make the final decision on California." "Do all 271 belong to George McGovern... or only 120, the number he actually won... on a percentage basis in that primary?" "[Richardson] Everybody is pledged to their candidate for the first ballot." "If there's more than one ballot, all bets are off." "You can vote for whoever you want." "So, McGovern, to win this nomination... needed it on the first ballot." "One of the first matters of business for the convention... was to vote on whether or not California would be winner-take-all... or whether they would allow the delegates... from the other candidates... to stay on the floor past Monday." "There we were with our little delegate tags... and we found the California delegation... and there were seats for us way in the back... and there's Willie Brown and other people up in the front." "[Richardson] Willie was an assembly member from San Francisco." "I had never heard of Willie Brown till the day... we all convened as a McGovern delegation." "And Willie, from day one, was in charge of this delegation." "On Alabama, vote your conscience or vote with your union." " Okay." " Either way, okay?" "Of course, that winner-take-all deal was challenged... and then Willie, at the convention-- my mayor, Willie Brown-- gave that infamous "give me back my delegation" speech." "I want to be able, as a chairman from any state... to stand before you in my just due... with my 271-man delegation... and to cast the votes of that unanimous 271-man delegation... and I don't think I deserve any less." "What he's arguing is that they bounce those Chisholm delegates right off the floor." "That is what he is arguing for them to do." "That's what that was." "And then-- And then Willie personalized this." "Seat my delegation." "I did it for you in Mississippi in '64... in Georgia in '68, and it's now California in '72." "I deserve no less." "Give me back my delegation!" " [Cheering] - [Scott] His last thing was..." ""Give me back my delegates.!" "Give me back my delegates!" Pounding like that." "And we were sitting there, and you know, here we are" ""Your delegates, Mr. Brown?"" "So we basically were not back on the floor after Monday... and the McGovern delegates... who had come anyway... to make up the full delegation... arrived on the Tuesday... and were there to vote for McGovern on first ballot." "[Lee] But we stayed there." "We stayed there." "We were very much an integral part of the convention operations." "We didn't just pack up and leave." "[Man] Balloting will continue until a nominee is selected." "The clerk will call the roll." " Illinois." " [Robles] And you know, at that convention... when it came to the roll call... the four of us, 'cause we were so fed up... held up the New York State roll call four times." "[Clerk] New York." "She said, "Look, they told me that we were not even gonna come down to Miami." ""And look where you are, Victor." "Regardless of what happens to me, we have-- we have made it."" "And so then and only then... with the understanding that on the first roll vote... we will vote for Chisholm." "It was on the second ballot to bring the delegation together... that then we came, closed our ranks... and we then supported the Democratic nominee." "[Man On TV] The hotel is the headquarters for Senator Edmund Muskie in Miami Beach." "Senator Muskie is withdrawing from the presidential race." "It is said that he intends to release his estimated 250 delegates now... to vote the way they wish on the nomination." "It is apparent from what he has just told reporters... that he intends to throw his support to Senator George McGovern." "...a kind of battle developing." "Now with Muskie and Humphrey pulling back... my strength is no longer important." "You see, that has been the strategy." "So I want to get in touch with Thad... because I want to release a statement to release my delegates to go where they want." "Okay, fine." "Thank you." "All right." "Well, we've just lowered the boom." "We just have to pray over the matter." "We have to pray over it." "[People Cheering]" "And therefore, in unity-- in unity there is strength." "I also want to make it quite clear... that it was the delegates here that made history tonight." "The delegates that made history tonight." "[Cheering]" "And so, in closing-- in closing, God be with all of you... and I pledge myself to crisscrossing this country once again... in terms of voter registration campaigns to swell those rolls... to unseat the incumbent, Richard Milhous Nixon, in November." "[Cheering]" "[Woman Talking, Indistinct]" "And, um, eight students of Mills College... and five hundred-and-some-odd thousand Chisholm supporters." "It's an analysis of the impossible dream." "And I think I can say for the California delegation... of all of the reasons we could have come to the convention as delegates... we came for the best reason-- Shirley Chisholm." "[Woman] I'd like to say, being a senior citizen... this is my first time attending a convention... and I think I would not have attended it hadn't it been for Shirley Chisholm." "I'd just like to make two or three more comments." "Let me just dry my eyes." "I just got so filled with-- [Indistinct]" "Some of you were concerned about... someone who was with me from the very beginning... who suddenly broke the ranks after he got here." "You know who I'm speaking about-- Congressman Dellums." "You tell Ron to come home to Shirley." "Take your time." "I know he doesn't know how to come to me." "I've gotten the messages." "I'm not mad at him." "I can understand the pressures and everything... that that man has had to go through... being the only black official out there in California... that stood out for so long, you know, with Shirley Chisholm... when everybody was ridiculing him and what have you, all right?" "So I want everybody to" " I want my people to know that there's no feelings." "Now, the last thing I want to say-- Don't let the spirit die." "Don't let the enthusiasm die." "Just let's say... that this is a wonderful trip that we all took together during the past several months." "That we have learned from our errors." "God knows there are plenty." "That we have gained experience." "And that if there is to be a next time... we will start a little bit differently because we will have learned... and we will be able to continue." "I am not "downheartened." I'm not disillusioned." "I am not bitter." "The only thing I continue to regret, of course... is that we didn't have the moolah." "Add that, I think there would have been a lot of other things that we could have done." "[Chisholm] The term "democracy, " as people mouth the term-- democracy--it sounds wonderful, sounds beautiful." "But in real practice, it's not carried out." "A lot of people will tell you that." "They wouldn't tell you that publicly." "I'm gonna tell you publicly." "It's not carried out in the real sense of the word." "When you realize what goes on behind the scenes." "When you realize how people bargain for votes." "How people make a deal in order to get three more delegates to a convention." "That's not democracy." "It's participation." "They're participating in the process... but... at what a cost." "When I die..." "I want to be remembered... as a woman who lived in the 20th century... and who dared to be a catalyst for change." "I don't want to be remembered as the first black woman... who went to congress... and I don't even want to be remembered as the first woman... who happened to be black... to make a bid for the presidency." "I want to be remembered as a woman... who fought for change... in the 20th century." "That's what I want." "[Chuckles]"