[applause] thank you very much. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> today at 6:30, project runway cohost tim gunn hosts a discussion of holiday decorations and traditions at the white house. analysts -- panelists include linda johnson robb and gary walters. that is today at 6:30 pm eastern time on c-span3's american history tv. >> each week, american history tv's american artifacts visits museums and historic places. >> i am sarah elliott, the curator for the house of representatives. i take care of a lot of the artifacts, artwork objects that document the house's rich heritage. >> i am the historian of the

house. my job is to collect biographical information on members to gather data and historic lists and to conduct histories. we answer questions in our office that come on the hill and off the hill. we try to tell the story of the house, which is this a very big, old institution, in a way in which people can connect with it at a human level. we do that through telling biographical stories or through clips from oral histories. >> this is a campaign poster for shirley chisholm, the first african-american woman in congress. it says on bought -- says, unbought. >> it was actually for a presidential campaign she waged

in 1972. she went to the democratic convention and rounded up 10% of the vote. she is the first african-american woman to run for president, and she did it on a shoestring budget. she had a reputation, a national reputation well before 1972. she is elected to congress in 1968 from a district that encompasses much of brooklyn. she becomes very prominent in that campaign. her opponent in the general election on the liberal republican ticket was james farmer, one of the great civil rights leaders, and there is this back and forth between these two. farmer really runs on the idea that brooklyn needs a man in congress, and shirley chisholm she fires back.

her campaign theme is, unbought and unbossed. she embraces this advocacy role. she is elected. she becomes the first african-american woman of congress in 1969. she serves a career that in a lot of ways is symbolic. she helped establish the congressional black caucus in 1971, and then she also gains a prominent committee assignment. she is the first african-american woman to serve on the house rules committee which is the committee that passes legislation onto the floor. she had her hands on a lot of important developments in the house. she also had a national reputation. she was someone who was very outspoken, which represents really a lot of the women who

were coming in to congress at this point. her colleague from new york city was bell labs sock who served for a couple terms -- bella bzug who served for a couple of terms. these were two women who spoke their minds. >> you are watching american history tv, 48 hours of programming on american history every weekend on c-span3. follow us on twitter @cs panhistory to keep up on the latest history news. >> this year, c-span is touring cities across the country exploring american history. next, a look at our recent visit to lafayette and westlaw fayed indiana. -- and west lafayette, indiana. you are watching american history tv. >>