The 2016 theme for National Women's History Month is Working to Form a More Perfect Union: Honoring Women in Public Service and Government.

Shirley Chisholm, a Democrat from New York, was the first black woman elected to the United States Congress (in 1969), and then--long before the likes of Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton--the first African American of either gender to seek a major party's presidential nomination, an effort recounted in Unbought & Unbossed. Well-educated, articulate, and tough, Chisholm faced plenty of opposition, including from women and other black politicians. Whether or not Shirley Chisholm met her goal of becoming "a catalyst for change," as she planned, is arguable. But that she had guts and the strength of her convictions is beyond debate.