John,

Today would be the 98th birthday of my dear friend and mentor, Shirley Chisholm. Throughout her life, she inspired countless women of color, including myself, to get involved in politics and fight for what we believe in. And I want to take this moment to commemorate her life and legacy.

I first met Shirley when I was a student at Mills College. My government professor assigned each student to complete fieldwork on a political campaign, and uninspired by the nominees in 1972, I decided that I would rather fail the assignment than work on behalf of the candidates running.

After inviting Shirley to speak at an event for the Black Student Union about her experience as the first Black woman to serve in Congress, I soon learned she was also running for president that year.

Unlike the other presidential nominees, she advocated for the issues that mattered most to me as a young single mother: childcare, public education, universal healthcare, and so much more.

After hearing her speech, I shared that I had to complete an assignment for class, and Shirley invited me to organize for her campaign. With her guidance, I learned the power of being “unbought and unbossed”.

Because of her legacy, we elected Kamala Harris as the first Black female Vice President in 2020, and there are more than 20 Black women serving in Congress today. That’s why I'm fighting to elect even more inspiring women of color up and down the ballot to bring real, lasting change to our communities.

John, on this special anniversary: Will you chip in a contribution toward my campaign? Your support will fuel my work to continue building a Congress that reflects the diversity of our nation and to fight for the just future Shirley envisioned.

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Thank you for standing with me.

In solidarity,

Barbara Lee