By Serena Edwards
Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Congress and BC alumna, has left her impact across communities. The Brooklyn Museum hosted a talk that reflected on a work of art portraying Chisholm and its intersection with her legacy. Two speakers led the conversation: Bisa Butler, a Howard University alumna and artist known for life-size quilted portraits, and Barbara Bullard, the president of the Shirley Chisholm Cultural Institute (SCCI). Both came together at the Brooklyn Museum to talk about the impact of Chisholm and what inspired the portrait that Butler created. The conversation was moderated by Stephanie Sparling Williams, curator of the American Art exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum.
The piece that is referenced in the talk is part of an exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum titled “Toward Joy: New Frameworks for American Art.” This exhibit is a reinstallation with multiple art pieces in honor of the museum’s 200th anniversary, emphasizing the modernism of American art through a BIPOC feminist lens.
Chisholm, who had roots at BC, had passed laws to improve CUNY resources. She passed legislation to bring the Search for Education, Elevation, and Knowledge (SEEK) program at CUNY, which still functions today. Chisholm was the first woman to run for presidency.
Butler compared the portrait to the first piece she did, which was a portrait of her grandfather who she never got to meet.
“My artwork has always come from a need within me to know myself and know what happened before,” Butler said. She continued to talk about what inspired the piece. Butler compared her life as an artist to the battles Shirley Chisholm had faced, the similar drive and determination resonated with who she was as an artist.
“Shirley Chisholm has become a huge beacon because she was so powerful and determined and refused to back down,” she stated. There were other figures that Butler was thinking of portraying, but Chisholm was the one that resonated with her the most.
“I was always going to do a portrait of Shirley Chisholm, that’s unequivocal,” Butler continued. She wanted to choose someone who was for the people.
“What’s an exemplary human being? Who do I wanna be like?” Butler said. “I had hundreds of photos of Shirley Chisholm on my computer and I thought now was the time, I didn’t know we’d be in this time, I didn’t know that Harris would have ran for president,” expressed Butler. She stated that Chisholm’s inspiration made her feel like this was a need.
“I really wanted to do something special for Brooklyn. I wanted to do something for the legacy, and I almost felt like I owed it to her,” Butler stated.
Bullard touched upon Chisholm’s legacy and how she had met Bill Howard, financial advisor and close friend to Chisholm, and his fight to keep Chisholm’s legacy alive. The SCCI serves as a legacy of who Chisholm was when she was alive, serving the community and staying connected with one another.
“When I met him I realized that one man was fighting for people to remember her because her legacy was systematically erased,” Bullard stated. This influenced her to look further into the fight for Shirley Chisholm.
Butler discussed how she was able to combine everything and bring Chisholm’s personality to life through her art. She explained the little details she chose to enhance when she designed this piece.
“I used fabric to tell a story […] I was choosing African fabrics to say our roots started before we got here and before we got to whatever colonial outpost we began to go to,” stated Butler. She continued by talking about how the fabrics tell the stories; she connected the use of present events to the story of Chisholm.
The Alabama Brawl chair, a motif used in the work that drew on the Montgomery Riverfront Brawl, connected to the famous saying of Chisholm’s: “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.”
Butler incorporated the chair within the design of the piece to connect the two stories. “The folding chair gives reference to when this was made […] gives multiple meanings and the chair had to be a part of it because it was something she said a lot but it was also just timely that it was used a lot.”
Bullard touched upon who Chisholm was and emphasized that she was a visionary and for the people.
“She worked for the people fearlessly to the point that a lot of people didn’t like her,” Bullard stated. She also emphasized that Chisholm made sure to represent Brooklyn in everything that she did. “She brought Brooklyn to DC, she didn’t bring DC to Brooklyn.”
Bullard also spoke about how the SCCI is still keeping Chisholm’s legacy alive throughout the Brooklyn community. The institute recently worked on a project with Lefferts Gardens housing.
“We were able to repurpose fabrics and create superhero capes because everyone is a superhero […] we look at Shirley and say she’s our hero, but I think what Chisholm wanted us to say is that we were all superheroes,” Bullard stated. “I think that it’s the arts that are going to allow us to dream and imagine the world we wanna live in, and create that world.”