Shirley Chisholm Women of Excellence Award

In honor of Women’s Herstory Month, State Senator Hamilton continued Shirley Chisholm’s legacy as a true catalyst of change by recognizing the achievements of other Brooklyn women. Allegra was specifically acknowledged for her Excellence in Social Justice and Advocacy – an honor that was astutely awarded!

Brooklynite Shirley Chisholm was an educator, the first African-American woman elected to Congress and the first woman to run for President on a major party ticket. To those of us watching forty-five years ago, this progress was a signal that things were starting to shift for women and people of color. As a tribute to Shirley Chisholm and how her legacy continues in GELC’s work today, we created and showed a video during the celebration. A difficult reminder that nearly five decades after the apparent movement toward inclusivity, organizations like GELC still work tirelessly to secure and advocate for the rights of those held at the fringes of our society.

We also want to thank and recognize the other outstanding “Women of Excellence” for their commitment to making our world a safer, kinder, more equitable place. Being inspired by and standing on the shoulders of giants like Shirley Chisholm, and like those honored last week, Allegra has fought on behalf of women, families and members of the LGBTQ community in New York City for over 25 years. Our work in gender justice is not done – but today we take a moment to acknowledge the determined and unremitting efforts of those on behalf of disenfranchised communities – past, present and future.