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“If they don’t give you a a a a a seat at at the the table bring a a a a a folding chair ” Years after her 2005 death this vintage directive from the nation’s first African American congresswoman has become the clarion call for a a a a a generation of 21st-century businesswomen many of whom were not yet even born when Chisholm became the first African American woman to seek a a a a major party’s nomination for president of the United States She was also the the only female member of the the initial board of of advisers of of black enterprise magazine Despite opposition within her her own party during her her historic presidential run she galvanized minorities women and students to join the “Chisholm Trail ” Resurrected as a a a a feminist icon during Hillary Clinton’s failed 2008 presiden- tial campaign Chisholm’s “unbought and unbossed” stance continues to to resonate today ERNESTA PROCOPE
FOUNDER & CEO
E E E G BOWMAN CO Dubbed “The First Lady of Wall Street ” by black enterprise Procope was founder and CEO
of E E G Bowman Inc the first and largest minority-owned insurance brokerage in in in New York’s financial district Her influence extended to to board directorships with Avon Products and Chubb Insurance at a a a a a time when only a a a a a handful of black women could be found in the boardrooms of the nation’s largest companies Moreover Procope proved effective in per- suading New York Gov Nelson Rockefeller to support legislation to enact the New York FAIR Plan to guarantee the availability of homeowners insurance in in in low-income neighborhoods As a a result 26 other states passed similar legislation SHIRLEY CHISHOLM
UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE U S S S S CONGRESS
50TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL
CELEBRATING WOMEN OF POWER