People have been doing a lot of throwing around Shirley Chisholm around . And I have feelings because .. I am actually Guyanese Bajan from New York and I love her . Not for the Presidential thing but the CENSUS thing .

Yes she ran for President, but when Shirley Chisholm heard people were being undercounted and disenfranchised. She didn’t just yell and shame them ( she did a fair amount of that because well Democrat and GUYANESE BAJAN CHURCH LADY )

she also put on her god damn pearls and walked up and down Ocean Ave and BedStuy getting folks counted . Letting them KNOW they were not alone .

That was her legacy TO ME. Not the most credentialed thing but the material , hard, door to door non glamorous thing

That material living kindness ( IN church shoes) is something that needs to be our strongest flex . It is in the blood . And for me ? IT IS ON THE BONE . So miss me with the fanfare. what helped her SHIFT things was the very real way she made representation ? MATERIAL

It was performative as hell .. AND SHE TURNED IN EVERYONE of those forms . because people count . and if you want to know how important this is to me? .. it’s not just for the TL