The Caribbean Research Center (CRC) at Brooklyn’s Medgar Evers College will on Saturday, March 19 host the 5th Annual Shirley Chisholm Women’s Empowerment Conference.
The all-day event sponsored by the Black Women for Fairness, Equity & Justice, Healthfirst and Always Amazing Alpha Alpha Phi Chapter will be held under the theme, “Our Story is Our Strength.” The conference takes place in the college’s Dining Hall at 1638 Bedford Ave.
The CRC said the conference will focus on issues that are escalating in the various communities in New York City, like gun violence, gentrification, gender and race injustice, and police brutality.
Several area elected officials including Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo, Assemblywomen Rodneyse Bichotte and Diane Richardson, and Senator Roxanne Persaud have been invited to participate in the event that honors the legendary Shirley Chisholm.
Chisholm, who born in Brooklyn in 1924 to Barbadian and Guyanese parents, was renowned for becoming the first Black congresswoman (1968), representing the 11th Congressional District in Brooklyn for seven, two-year terms.
In 1972, the out-spoken Chisholm ran for the Democratic nomination for the presidency, becoming the first major-party African-American candidate to do so.
The CRC noted that, throughout her political career, Chisholm fought for education opportunities and social justice. In 1983, Chisholm left Congress to teach. She died in Florida in 2005.
Tickets for the conference can be purchased on Eventbrite, https://www.event
For more information, contact Shakima Scott at (718) 270-4850; or email at Carib
