The 2025 Social Justice Symposium Week hosted by the Hedgeman Center kicked off on Tuesday, April 1, in the Klas Center. This year’s theme was honoring the life and legacy of Shirley Chisholm (1924-2005), the first Black U.S. Congresswoman and the first Black woman to run for President from a major political party. The first event of the week was a keynote about Chisholm from Seena Hodges, founder and CEO of the organization “The Woke Coach”.
The event started with an introduction from the Director of the Hedgeman Center Dr. Kareem Watts and a brief history on the symposium by Professor of Philosophy and Religion, Samuel Imbo. Hodges began by singing an old gospel called “No Ways Tired”. Afterward, she started talking about the life of Chisholm, beginning with an initiative of hers as a Congresswoman that was widely considered radical in her time: childcare.
Hodges spoke of her own upbringing as a Black woman in the South and learning about Chisholm during her childhood. Her presentation was split into three parts: who Shirley Chisholm was, what she stood for and what we can learn from her. Hodges discussed how Chisholm was a trailblazer, championing progressive causes and uplifting the voices of ordinary people, who continues to be a source of inspiration to this day.
“Her legacy is one of resilience, inclusion and fearlessness in the face of injustice. She showed us that true leadership comes not from conformity, but from daring to challenge the systems that oppress and divide us,” Hodges said.
Hodges discussed the uphill battles Chisholm faced in her life throughout the keynote, starting from her youth as the daughter of immigrants to the intersection of being Black and a woman in the highly political world in the 1960s and ‘70s.
“She was a woman in a male-dominated political world. She was an African American in a world steeped in systemic racism. She was a candidate in a time when the very idea of a woman of color running for president seemed almost unthinkable.”Hodges said, “But she didn’t let these challenges define her. Instead, she used them as fuel for her fire.”.
Watts felt it was important to highlight Chisholm because her story showcased being multiple firsts, which he believes not enough people are aware of.
“I think a lot of people don’t know about her story. A lot of stories when it comes to people of color have been hidden, especially when it comes to women of color,” Watts said.
There were many parts of Hodges’ keynote that stuck with attendees. One was Chisholm’s resilience and her presidential campaign slogan, “Unbossed and Unbought”.
“I liked the campaign slogan of her main topic of being unbossed and unbought, that was pretty cool. I wasn’t aware of that, but yeah, I just think the resilience, when you’re faced with adversity it’s important to try to make a positive out of it,” Associate Vice President of Philanthropy John Chandler said.
Watts mentioned that one point that resonated with him was a quote of Chisholm’s: “If they don’t bring a seat to the table, bring a folding chair.”
“That right there was powerful because many of us that have marginalized identities here in America, we don’t often get a seat at the table when it comes to leadership decisions, etc, etc, and so ‘bring a folding chair’, to me that implies, do what you need to do to get that seat,” Watts said.
Associate Dean of Students Carlos Sneed found it exciting to focus on Chisholm because of a connection she had with Hamline University.
“She visited this campus in 1972 and there are alums who interacted with her as she was on campus speaking. So Hamline has always been a place where local and certainly national news has come,” Sneed said. “So she wasn’t here with us today, but I think her spirit was here with us after visiting with us in 1972.”
Throughout the keynote, Hodges had the same two questions for the audience. “Are you tired? Or are you fired up?” Toward the end, she asked this multiple times in a row, eventually receiving passionate responses of “yes” to both questions. Hodges, however, did not want this to be the end of the discussion for attendees.
“As we leave this space together today, I just want us to commit to being curious. To engaging more deeply and to taking action that will make a difference every day. I want to invite you to continue this conversation,” Hodges said.