May 14, 2026

Join Prospect Park Alliance and Shirley Chisholm Cultural Institute (SCCI) for a new exhibit that explores how Brooklyn’s beloved daughter broke down gender and racial barriers to fight for her community, becoming the first Black woman elected to Congress.

The exhibit is organized around seven life lessons drawn from Chisholm’s tenacious career. It features stunning portraits of Chisholm by artist Al Johnson and rarely seen photographs and memorabilia from the Congresswoman’s campaigns, curated by Barbara Bullard, Creative Producer and President of SCCI. These materials offer inspirational insights into how Brooklyn’s beloved daughter broke down gender and racial barriers to become the first Black woman to serve in Congress. This exhibit provides visitors with a space to reflect on Chisholm’s legacy as Prospect Park Alliance welcomes the installation of a new monument in her honor at the Parkside and Ocean Avenue entrance in 2027.

The exhibit, curated by Barbara Bullard, Cultural Producer and President of the Shirley Chisholm Cultural Institute, is part of Prospect Park Alliance’s ReImagine Lefferts initiative, which is transforming the museum to explore the legacies of resistance and resilience of the Indigenous people of Lenapehoking, whose unceded ancestral lands the park and house rests upon, and Africans who were enslaved by the Lefferts family.

The Shirley Chisholm Cultural Institute (SCCI) has been at the forefront of art, culture, and justice and economic sustainability since 1977, with the official permission and participation of Congresswoman Chisholm herself in its inception and development. Its purpose is to preserve the legacy of Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm through the initiatives cultivated during her public service career with 21st century activism and innovation. SCCI is aligned with grassroots groups and frontline communities through creating substantive community-based partnership and collaboration along with strategic interoperative relationships with leaders of governmental, and mainstream organizations.

The Shirley Chisholm Way: Brooklyn’s Blueprint for Change
Exhibit Opening: Thursday, May 14, 2026 6-8 pm
On view through November 15, 2026

February 20, 2025

A beautiful evening engaging in conversation about Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm. Participants included artist Bisa Butler, cultural producer and president of Shirley Chisholm Cultural Institute Barbara Bullard, and curator Stephanie Sparling Williams, Ph.D.

December 31, 2024

In Chester, the charity Ready Generations worked alongside the Shirley Chisholm Institute in New York, Live Cheshire and HealthBox to celebrate the 100th Birthday of civil rights activist and social justice champion, Shirley Chisholm.

November 23, 2024

A celebration of Shirley Chisholm’s birthday in her beloved Brooklyn district held at the future site of the Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center.

October 6, 2024

An afternoon of wellness and reflection in tribute to Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm

September 29, 2024

Prospect Park Alliance Artist in Residence Adama Delphine Fawundu and the Shirley Chisholm Cultural Institute hosted a family-friendly event at Lefferts Historic House to create and showcase superhero capes inspired by the legacy of Shirley Chisholm and Fawundu’s performance piece In the Face of History Freedom Cape.

September 19, 2024

The SCCI in partnership with the Office of the Consul General of Barbados and Salzburg Global Seminar presented an evening of purpose-driven people in tribute to Shirley Chisholm.

February 28, 2024

A vital, interactive discussion exploring the history of Black folks in America and its relation to the future of Black New York.

November 14 - 19, 2023

Shirley Chisholm Cultural Institute participated in the Salzburg Global Seminar's Civic and Civil Engagement: Identity, Belonging, and Education in the 21st Century with 42 leaders from 20 countries representing 39 organizations in Salzburg, Austria.

May 1, 2023

Conversation on “Being Seen” through the lens of Shirley Chisholm, with President Barbara Bullard presented by MINKA Brooklyn.

April 7, 2023

Documentary Film Focused on Black Maternal Health Crisis NY Premiere Screening ‘Birthing Justice’ Film and Panelists Discussion leading into Black Maternal Health Week.

February 1 - 28, 2023

An interactive experience at the World Trade Center Oculus.

June 4, 2021

Renowned Dignitaries and Entertainment Honors the Legacy of the Late Shirley Chisholm and the Historical Election of Vice President Kamala Harris. Virtual Panel and Film Festivals opens Caribbean-American Heritage Month.