and when shirley chisholm ran and when jesse jackson ran, i just don't think we were quite there. we may actually be there now. whether he wins or not, he's doing really well among segments of the population that we might not have expected, and certainly was not there in the past in terms of supporting a black candidate. so, i think we have made some progress. >> i heard a black friend say barack obama's white. it's the white people who think he's black. >> uh-huh, uh-huh. well, from my perspective i think barack obama is a man who can have a foot in both worlds and understand both, and perhaps we need someone like that, certainly to run as a candidate. i'm certainly not going to suggest to people who they should vote for, but in terms of whether or not he's black enough or whether he's black or whether he's white, i think he has had the kind of experience that makes it possible for him to identify with all types of people, and i think it makes it possible for all types of people to identify with him. and that's a good thing, because we are very multiethnic i country. we have vari

shirley chisholm was the first black female member of congress.nk that the first weekend in february would be cold and maybe even snowing ... that will be true for the plains states where there is a blizzard expected dumping 2 ft. of snow ... but here in chicago it will be in the upper 30's low 40's ... the areas on the map have winter storm watches and warnings for blizzard conditions and there is a tornado watch right now for the oklahoma texas border ... the snow banned extends from the rockies eastward into nebraska precipitation will be raising the southern suburbs of chicago but that's about it for this area ... tomorrow and may seek about 4 in. of snow nebraska will see 2 ft.. tomorrow and iowa will get those 4 in. ... the water temperatures are in the low 30's and that is keeping us damp and cool ... there really cold air is way north in the arctic ... we have moderate conditions here ... there is a shot of cold air going toward new england but we will remain mild in the seventh day forecast it will be 39 degrees tomorrow with rain and dri

shirley chisholm. my mother took me to hear her when she ran for president in 72.i heard her speak at the university. i was very much aware that a black one was running for president is very frosted they could not out yet. later on i was very impressed by the emerging doses, authors. but also i had globally in terms of jewish women who had been resistance fighters in the holocaust and the memoirists who wrote about the struggle for women to tell their stories in a female voice and nationally i majored in jewish history as an undergrad who lived in israel for a year. some kind of all over the place in terms of survivors, those unafraid to speak. those who were able to use the written word the way a hope to one day. >> host: contemporarily, who are some of your heroes? >> guest: and again he would have on the wall of my office click donna brazil who is my office mate. georgetown. certainly, hillary clinton i admired her struggle. i am very impressed by all of the women who have broken through in women's sports and who have managed to articulate to the next generation

and of course he worked with congresswoman shirley chisholm and barbara jordan and charlotte digs. i was blessed and privileged and fortunate to have had a chance to meet them and to see them work and to see how they interacted and healthy lead in terms of his input into these other great founders of the congressional black caucus and using his expertise and his perspective to bring people together. it was just quite an amazing army, but because he is quite an amazing and billion man. ron move forward in this institution coming from congress has a ba, anti-4 candid it. i know he will tell you about how he got to the armed services committee. but i never saw him waver as he moved up the ranks in the armed services committee. he alternately became chairman of the armed services committee in the mid-90s, but could you imagine sharing the armed services committee coming from berkeley, setting a standard where he said, you know, we have got to have a rational same defense policy which means looking at where we can cut the military budget so that we can invest in our domestic priority. w

shirley chisholm when she ran for president in '72. i heard her speak at duke university. i was very aware that a black woman was running for president and i was very frustrated and i could not vote yet. later on, i was very impressed by the emerging voices of lesbian authors, rita may brown, audrian rich but also i had an interest in what was going on globally in terms of jewish women who had been resistance fighters in the holocaust and then the memoirist who wrote about the struggle for women to tell their stories in a female voice and initially i majored in jewish history as an undergrad and lived in israel for a year. so i'm kind of all over the place in terms of survivors, those unafraid to speak, those who were able to use the written words the way i hoped today. .. >> guest: i am a big fan of the women who have done a lot of work building the national women's history museum. we're trying to establish in d.c. and that ceo is joan wageses, but meryl streep is working as the spokeswoman. we're trying to get that built. it's a virtual museum right now. i'm also a perso

shirley chisholm, the first african-american woman elected to the u.s.ves and the first african-american to run for president. charlayne hunter-gault, a decorated journalist who helped integrate the university of georgia. sonia sanchez, a university professor and renowned poet. and frances watkins harper, one of the first abolitionist speakers of the 1800s. all of these women trailblazers and crusaders and proof that progress is defined by greatness, not gender. >> the international struggle for human rights is a struggle for all people. and the exhibit here definitely shows the contribution that women, particularly black women have played in that struggle. >> it touched me hard because you know, we struggle every day. every day's a struggle now. and it kind of put a fire inside of me to keep going, you know? >> i learned about black women and the stuff they did to make women now have rights and be equal. >> reporter: even this very room is steeped in history. at this very spot back in february 21st, 1965 malcolm x was assassinated. but here through this

he worked with shirley chisholm and charlie digs and i was blessed and privilege and fortunate to havechance to meet them and to see how they interacted to see how he lead in terms of his input into these other founders of the congressional black caucus and using his expertise and perspective to bring people together. it was quite an amazing moment for me but because he is quite an amazing and brilliant man. move forward in this institution. crotona avenue ching from congress as an anti-war candidate. that was during the vietnam war. i know he will tell you about how he got into the armed services committee. but i never saw him waver as he moved up the ranks in the armed services committee and ultimately became chair of the armed services committee in the mid 90s but can you imagine chairing the armed services committee coming from berkeley, setting a standard where he said we're going to have a rational defense policy which means looking at where we can cut the military budgets so we can invest in domestic priorities? that argument and that debate is beginning among democrats and repu

important to teach them about where we came from as african-americans, and so they learn about shirley chisholmafrican-american in congress, and they learn about barbara jordan, who was on the watergate committee. and so, these are just two of the outstanding women that have served in the congressional black caucus. we now have 15 black women serving in the congressional black caucus. so, we feel like it's very important. if you don't know your history, you are subject to commit some of the problems that people have in the past. so, we are working very closely with our young people to make certain that they understand our history. >> it's so important. how many members are in the caucus itself? >> the congressional black caucus consists of the elected members of congress who are african-americans, and they have a choice to join the cbc or not. and so, 43 of the 44 black members of congress are members of the congressional black caucus. 42 of them are democrats and 1 is a republican. >> now, the foundation is non-profit and it's non-partisan. how challenging is that in a political climate and ho

but before he ran there was a woman who ran, the honorable shirley chisholm. she was the first african-american to run for president from a major political party. she didn't get the nomination of the party but she did run from a major political party. so we should remember that for every martin king there were persons who were in the shadows, who made a difference. john lewis was one of them. for every thurgood marshall there's a charles hamilton houston who made a difference in the life of a thurgood marshall such that he could go on to do the great things that he did. for every rosa parks there's a person who was in the shadows who made a difference, who helped to make the occasion such that rosa parks could rise to the occasion by taking a seat and igniting a spark that started the civil rights movement. let us remember not only the persons who made the great headlines that we continually recognize but let's remember that there were other persons who made great headway, who don't get the recognition today that they merit but they were a part of this great m