Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., stands beside a portrait of her friend and mentor, Shirley Chisolm, the first Black woman elected to Congress, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP ...

Nov. 5 marked the historic 56th anniversary of the first African-American woman being elected to the U.S. Congress, Rep.

awarding the Congressional Gold Medal posthumously to her mentor and friend Shirley Chisholm, another trailblazer — the first Black woman elected to Congress, joining in 1969, who went on to ...