BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Barbados has renamed a primary school in honor of Shirley Anita Chisholm, the first Black woman to be elected to the United States Congress in 1968.
Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, officials and the family of Shirley Chisholm watch the unveiling of the new sign bearing the name of former pupil and trailblazer Shirley Anita Chisholm. (C. Pitt/BGIS)Education, Technological and Vocational Training Minister, Kay McConney said it was a no brainer to rename the Vauxhall Primary School, the Shirley Chisholm Primary School, which the late US Congresswoman had attended during the 1920’s.
In her autobiography, “Unbought and Unbossed”, Chisholm wrote “I would know what an important gift my parents had given me by seeing that I had my early education in the strict traditional styled schools of Barbados. If I speak and write easily now, that early education is the main reason”.
McConney said that there were no reservations when the idea was first brought to her Ministry’s attention that the Vauxhall School situated in Christ Chruch on the southern end of the island, be named after Chisholm.
She acknowledged it was the brainchild of diplomat Chad Blackman, the then Barbados ambassador to Geneva, also an alumni of Vauxhall Primary.
McConney said that Shirley Chisholm’s name carried “a significance of courage, audacity, tenacity and capacity” highlighting her ability to “sink her teeth in, focus on where she needed to go and persevere” not only for herself but the benefit of others.
“As we rename this institution today, we seek also to commemorate the indelible contribution that this school played in the formative years of our illustrious patron Shirley Anita Chisholm. We seek to evolve a unique identity for this institution of learning and to leave a historical marker that will inspire past, present and future students to walk in her footsteps and in their case, to create their own footsteps that take them even higher,” she told the audience that included Chisholm family members, Prime Minister Mia Mottley and the United States Ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Linda Taglialatela.
“You have in Shirley Chisholm, a great icon to inspire you. As you walk into school each morning and wait at the entrance to enter school, I want you to look up to the mural… look at all of the achievements of this great lady…and, like Shirley Anita Chisholm, focus on making a positive difference,” the Education Minister said, adding that the new name symbolized a level of excellence, achievement and legacy worthy of the school.
