International Women's Day: Shirley Chisholm Route

I set off scrambling at 8:16am on Saturday, March 6th to meet up with friends for an 8:30 run. I was the last to arrive, but got there just on time. When I sidled up to them, they were mostly on their phones trying to figure out the Shirley Chisholm long route. Though, it was two days before International Women’s Day, we had all agreed that running 10 miles on Monday seemed more like a headache than fun. Regardless of the date, we were going to pay tribute to women in the way that felt most natural- by running.

In past years, PPTC has celebrated International Women’s Day by leading group runs to women-owned restaurants or bars. This year, due to the pandemic, virtual routes were created (by PPTC members Mark Guralnick and Lisa Maya Knauer) to honor Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, two influential Brooklynites who made waves on the national stage in the fight for gender equality. RBG was a lawyer and the second woman and first Jewish woman to serve on the Supreme Court. Known for her work to achieve gender equality, RBG also fought for racial equality, the rights of people with disabilities, and the LBGTQIA+ community. Shirley Chisholm was the first Black woman in Congress and worked towards racial and gender equality. She continued to push boundaries as the first Black person and first woman candidate to run for a major political party’s presidential nomination.
International Women’s Day has been commemorating women like them and the many accomplishments of women around the globe since the early 1900s. Much has changed since then, women’s rights in many countries have made significant strides and fortunately for our group’s sporadic planning, technology and GPS have too.

My map of my completed Shirley Chisholm Route. The numbers correspond to the stops we made along the way. Watch out for the numbers in the piece to match descriptions up with locations.
Number graphics by John Vaghi

Eventually, Will Ngo (he/him) pulled up a map and we set off to the first destination: the Girl’s School in Bed-Stuy¹, which was the high school Shirley attended. Covered in scaffolding, the school now appears to be an adult learning center. Due to its unexpected appearance, Pam Ritchie (she/her) and I pulled out our phones to confirm if we were at the correct location. We were. Stepping up to the fencing, I peered through the mesh tarp covering the structure and found a stone fountain in the middle of the courtyard. I imagined Shirley admiring it as a girl. That little glimpse, Shirley and I both laying our eyes on the same fountain gave me a sense of connection to her.

Will Ngo, me, Louise Carbery, Pam Ritchie, Alison Restak, and Sara Koch at Shirley Chisholm Circle (3) in Brower Park.

The next section of the route involved more stopping than going and we seemed on a real estate tour of all of Shirley’s homes. After an introduction to warm weather earlier that week, we were unprepared for the cold. So, while we enjoyed looking at Shirley’s childhood home (1094 Park Place)², a lovely two-story home with a driveway and wooden posts, by the time we got to where her home at 28 Virginia Place⁴ should have been (number 28 was inexplicably missing), we had to readjust. Alison Restak (she/her) and Louise Carbery (she/her) were stuffing hand warmers into their gloves while Alison’s friend, Sara Koch (she/her) balled her hands up in her gloves to try to keep in heat.

We stopped at 1147 Eastern Parkway (6), a property that Shirley’s first husband, Conrad Chisholm, bought. It acted as an event venue. Here we are plotting out the next leg of the run along Eastern Parkway.

At the house (1028 St. John’s Place)⁵ Shirley lived in when she began her presidential campaign, Louise impressively recalled a few facts about Shirley and U.S. presidents. This sparked an intriguing conversation that continued as we ran to Eastern Parkway before diverging into discussions about running clothes. This was not uncommon. Our conversations danced between lighthearted chitchat to deep and heavy discussions throughout the run.

As we kept our eyes pried for our next destination, we enjoyed each other’s company and the journey. It didn’t feel like a run but rather a scavenger hunt - an adventure. When we started the run, we didn’t all know each other. Some of us were friends, others friends of friends, but we all worked together to complete the route.
To me, that’s what International Women’s Day is all about – putting down the measuring stick and boxing gloves, and lifting each other up; inspiring and encouraging one another. Real change towards equality will never happen if we are all fighting or trying to keep others down. Instead, the objective is to work together for women to receive equal pay and health care that recognizes the differences in women’s symptoms vs men’s. It’s also about fighting to revere feminine behaviors in boys (i.e., dressing in skirts, playing with dolls, baking, etc.) in the same way masculine behaviors are admired in girls (i.e., playing sports, wrestling, wearing masculine clothing, etc.). For actual change to happen though, it can’t be focused all on one day or one month. That means we must root for one another every single day.

Each one of us had trained with another runner in the group at one point, so maybe it was that propensity to believe in one another that pulsed through each of us that Saturday morning. As we looped around Brooklyn College⁷ (Shirley’s and Pam’s alma mater) and trekked towards coffee, that positive energy was palpable. We each left that run feeling hopeful and supported, and couldn’t stop talking about how enjoyable it was.

Maybe Shirley was running along with us, cheering us on, contributing to the run’s good vibes. While we weren’t doing anything extraordinary on our run that day, we were out there empowering each other and participating in a sport that had been very male-dominated when Shirley ran for the presidential nomination in the 1970’s. I’m in awe of her and all she did during her lifetime. Shirley’s fighting spirit is one of the more inspirational things about her. She refused to abide by the unspoken rule to remain in the background during her first year as a Representative of the House, because she was focused on addressing the issues that faced the country. Her voice as a weapon against the Vietnam War, racial discrimination, gender discrimination, she spoke up about what she believed in. As Shirley once said, “I want to be remembered as a woman…who dared to be a catalyst of change.”

I think Shirley would be frustrated with where we are now, in the midst of a racial justice crisis with BIPOC and women fighting to be heard. Despite the civil rights and feminist movements changing law, at times we seem to be standing with Shirley in the 1970’s or possibly even steps behind her. I hope that people are more aware now of how to make progress and I’d like to think Shirley would be happy to see us bolstering each other up. As Shirley pointed out in regards to her work in the House: no one can accomplish anything on their own, we all need one another to move forward.

PPTC is a diverse and supportive team. We want to celebrate the diversity of our club and membership. We welcome and encourage everyone to share their stories with us.

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Text by: Rachael DePalma (she/her)
Photos by: Will Ngo (he/him) & Rachael DePalma (she/her)
Photo graphics by: John Vaghi
Edited by: PaFoua Hang (she/her), Donna Newton (she/her), & John Vaghi (he/him)
Produced by: Rachael DePalma (she/her)