Black History Month: Documentary Looks At Life Of Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm

Note: This is the tenth installment of WCBS 880's Black History Month series.

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork)-- When Brooklyn Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm ran for president in 1972, she made one thing very clear:

"I am not the candidate of black America, although I am black and proud," Chisholm said over 40 years ago.

She was equally proud of being a woman, Mrs. Chisholm declared, but she was also the candidate of "the people of America."

That's an excerpt from the 2004 documentary, "Chisholm '72: Unbought And Unbossed," made by Shola Lynch.

"People didn't just hand her opportunities, she had to create them," Lynch told WCBS 880's Jane Tillman Irving. "She took charge of her life in politics and didn't let others define who she was."

Last year, a decade after her death, President Obama awarded Chisholm the presidential medal of freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.