by Derrick Z. Jackson

Boston Globe

01/05/05

Shirley Chisholm died Saturday just before Newsweek hit the stands with the first hint that John Kerry might run again for president. The coincidence was a stark reminder of the buckling Democratic Party. Chisholm, the first African-American woman in Congress, ran for the Democratic nomination for president in 1972. She said she represented Americans who wanted 'freedom from violence and war, at home and abroad.

' Thirty-two years after her failed bid, the party's nominee was the dallying Kerry, who offered no freedom from the rhetoric of war... Kerry's crumble fit with what Chisholm said in 1969: 'Far too often we become cowards when faced with individuals who have strong leadership abilities, individuals who often do not want social revolution as much as they want personal power.'

http://tinyurl.com/5w95u


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp