Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mourn the loss of a legend. Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm was a trailblazer whose story represents the best of America, and the essence of the New York experience.

She was the first of four girls born to two immigrants--one Barbadian, the other Guyanese--who instilled in her a lifelong devotion to the value of a good education. She graduated cum laude from Brooklyn College, and went onto earn a master's degree at Columbia.

During the 1950s, she directed a day care center in Brooklyn, and worked as an educational consultant for New York City. Her work in the community launched her political career, and she was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1964.

In 1968, she was elected to Congress as the first African-American woman to serve in the House of Representatives. She went on to become a founding member of both the National Organization for Women, the National Women's Political Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus. And as always, she devoted her energies to education, promoting programs like Title IX and early childhood education.

She served seven terms in Congress, in midst of it all becoming the first African-American, of either gender, to run a large-scale campaign to become the presidential candidate of one of the major political parties.

A proud and independent voice, Shirley Chisholm was a New York original. She will be sorely missed.