Congresswoman Chisholm: Unbought, unbossed, and unforgettable
Reporters get to meet lots of famous people, but they never ask for autographs. But there I was, that day in October, 1972, holding out my reporter's skinny notebook hoping for a signature. And so was every other reporter in that packed room.
We were at a press conference being given in a school classroom in Dayton, Ohio, by a presidential candidate who had no chance of winning and who wasn't even on the ballot in our state. It was the most crowded press conference I ever attended.
TV cameramen -- and they were all men in those days -- put down their gear and elbowed their way to the front of the room with the rest of us when the conference ended. Local anchormen -- and they were all men in those days -- joined the fray as well, even if it meant getting their hair mussed.
Always a competitive reporter, I was one of the first to thrust my notebook out, and the obliging candidate accepted it, lifting a pen to sign. Before that pen reached paper, a dozen other notebooks were thrust in between. The candidate signed, and signed, and signed, and finally reached the bottom of the pile: my notebook. Just then, a campaign staffer whispered emphatically that there was absolutely no more time -- they had a plane to catch.
"Just one more minute," the candidate replied, indicating the last notebook left on the table.
"I'm sorry," the staffer told us both. "This happens everywhere she goes. We really have to go now."
For years, I saved that notebook, because although I didn't get a signature, the candidate had made an impression on it. I could have rubbed a pencil across it to make it more visible, but that just didn't seem right. But if you looked closely, you could see it: Congresswoman Chisholm.
I would have voted for her, if I'd gotten the chance, not that it would have made any difference. I don't know if any of the other reporters felt that way, but we all wanted her autograph because Shirley Chisholm was living history: the first black woman elected to Congress, the first woman of any race to run for president.
I never asked for anybody else's autograph.
posted by Janet Dagley Dagley @4:21 PM
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