Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm dead at 80

ORMOND BEACH, Fla., Jan. 3 (UPI) -- The first black woman to serve in Congress, Shirley Chisholm, died in Florida after suffering several strokes, the New York Times reported Monday. She was 80.

The outspoken teacher was first elected in 1968 in a Brooklyn, N.Y., district with the campaign slogan "unbought and unbossed."

"I am an historical person at this point, and I'm very much aware of it," she told the Washington Post a few months after she was sworn in.

In 1972, she entered the presidential primaries and said from the outset she didn't expect to capture the Democratic nomination, which ultimately went to George McGovern.

"Some see my candidacy as an alternate and others as symbolic or a move to make other candidates start addressing themselves to real issues," she said.

In 1970, she wrote "Our representative democracy is not working because the Congress that is supposed to represent the voters does not respond to their needs.

"I believe the chief reason for this is that it is ruled by a small group of old men."