When I returned to work from maternity leave two weeks ago, my students (our grade level) were scheduled to take a two day district assessment the same week. The first day was multiple choice; the second day was an extended constructed response to emulate our state test coming up mid April. The writing prompt was: “Explain why Shirley Chisholm is still a role model for girls today.”

Imagine my eyeballs when I flipped on Netflix this evening to see the feature movie was “SHIRLEY” played by Regina King!! I only got about twenty minutes in when the baby had different plans (LOL), but hopefully I’ll finish it this weekend. As usual, I started googling random facts as the movie was playing:

• husband’s name
• did she have children
• who was the first Latino congressman
• greatest achievement

You know how it goes… Before I know it, I’ve googled enough to feel I can write the movie myself! I leave you with the following quotes that also popped up in my search:

You don’t make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.

If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.

Of course laws will not eliminate prejudice from the hearts of human beings. But that is no reason to allow prejudice to continue to be enshrined in our laws – to perpetuate injustice through inaction.