Shirley Chisholm, the first African-American woman elected to Congress, sought the Democratic nomination in 1972 as the first black woman to run for president.
When the congresswoman from New York launched her spirited campaign, she took on the political establishment. Chisholm said she ran for the office, despite the hopeless odds, to challenge the status quo.
In her announcement speech, Chisholm said: "I am not the candidate of black America, although I am black and proud. I am not the candidate of the women's movement of this country, although I am a woman and I am equally proud of that. I am the candidate of the people, and my presence before you now symbolizes a new era in American political history."
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