When Shirley Chisholm was asked why she would dare run for president, her response was, why not her? Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm rose from being the child of immigrants to running for the highest office in the land. She was the first African American woman elected to the US Congress and the first African American woman of a major political party to make a serious run for president. Chisholm directly challenged the political establishment and gave a political voice to so many segments of society that were historically ignored—women, racial minorities, young people, the gay community, and the poor—not only in her home district in Brooklyn, New York, but across the country. Her run for the 1972 Democratic presidential nomination may not have ended in victory, but it was successful in forging a grassroots campaign that united diverse Americans behind a candidate who championed their collective interests. Her efforts laid the groundwork for change then, now, and in the future.