Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
In 1969, then-freshman Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm predicted this political moment.
During an interview with renowned English journalist David Frost on the orange, purple and maroon set of “The David Frost Show,” he cooly asked Chisholm, “Tell me, do you think there can ever be a woman president of the United States?”
Chisholm didn’t bat an eye as she immediately responded, “Oh, yes. Yes, it’s coming.” She added, “I believe this country will be saved by women and students, and if the women come together in spite of racial differences, class differences, economic differences and back a strong woman, I could see this happening in about 70 to 75 years.”
Frost, bowled over, quipped, “That’s quite a long time, isn’t it,” and Chisholm explained that this timeline allows men to prepare to step aside and “get acclimated for the thing that is to happen in the future because it is going to happen. Nobody will be able to stop it.”
Chisholm’s prediction was markedly more positive and unifying than President Gerald Ford’s much darker forecast in 1989. Ford projected that a sitting president would need to die in order for a woman to ascend. Thankfully, we are experiencing what Chisholm foretold — at least half of it, so far.
President Joe Biden’s decision to leave the 2024 presidential election and effectively “step aside” after urging from Democratic Party leaders, while a difficult decision, created space for Vice President Kamala Harris to step forward and earn the Democratic nomination. Biden’s decision also further steeped his political legacy in supporting and advancing Black leaders. Biden served as vice president to the first Black president, Barack Obama, for two terms. In August 2020, Biden selected then-Senator Kamala Harris to serve as his running…
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