By Rachel Spears — Political Editor

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Chisholm overcame what she called a “double handicap”: being African-American and a woman, to become the second African-American member of the New York State Legislature in 1964 and the first African-American woman in Congress in 1968. She was the first woman and African-American person to seek a nomination for the presidency which she accomplished in 1972. Chisholm retired from Congress in 1983. When asked about her legacy she said, “I want to be remembered as a woman … who dared to be a catalyst of change.”