Brooklyn's Finest: The Seminal Audacity of Shirley Chisolm by Sheldon Taylor
“Reagan is the Prez /but I voted for Shirley Chisolm” “Nobody Beats The Biz” --- Biz Markie (1987) The Diabolical One’s conscious couplet wasn’t just a slick one-liner delivered nearly thirty years ago. It was a hip hop salute for a historical moment that wasn’t lost on the Long Island emcee who was only eight years old when Shirley Chisolm became the first woman to run for the Democratic Party presidential nomination in 1972. History shows little love for Chisolm’s defining moment despite the fact she predated Geraldine Ferraro’s addition to the ’84 ticket and Jesse Jackson’s consecutive runs in ’84 and ’88. Upper-echelon male-dominated politic...