It has been announced that a statue of former congresswoman and political trailblazer, Shirley Chisholm, will be erected in Prospect Park in New York in two years. She was chosen from a list of 1812 names put forward by the public, after plans were revealed to build a new monument to a woman who has made significant contributions to the city.
Shirley Chisholm was the first black woman to serve as a US Representative. Image: Leif Skoogfors/Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
NYC First Lady, Chirlane McCray, made the announcement that the statue will honour Shirley Chisholm, who became the first black congresswoman in US history in 1968 when she was elected to represent Brooklyn’s 12th Congressional District. This means that she will become the sixth historical female to be represented in statue form across the five boroughs in New York City, with the others being Joan of Arc, Golda Meir, Gertrude Stein, Eleanor Roosevelt and Harriet Tubman. This compares to around 145 statues honouring male historical figures.
US Representative Shirley Chisholm announcing her entry for the Democratic nomination for the presidency in 1972. Image: Don Hogan Charles/New York Times Co./Getty Images
Shirley fought for women and minorities and she died on 1 January 2005, after suffering several strokes. The announcement comes on what would have been her 94th birthday. The statue will be erected at the Parkside entrance to Prospect Park in two years, in the borough where Shirley was born in 1924. It is part of She Built NYC, an initiative that seeks to correct the imbalance in gender representation among the city’s public monuments.
A statue of Shirley Chisholm will be erected in New York City. Image: Bettmann/Getty Images
“Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm’s legacy of leadership and activism has paved the way for thousands of women to seek public office,” says Chirlane McCray. “She is exactly the kind of New York woman whose contributions should be honored with representation in our public spaces, and that is now being realized with She Built NYC.”
Shirley Chisholm State Park will open in 2019 in Brooklyn. Image: Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
Separately, a new 407-acre state park will open in Brooklyn in 2019 and will be named Shirley Chisholm State Park. It will have bike trails, waterfront access and opportunities for environmental education and you can view renderings here.
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