Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the Congressional Black Caucus and several other House members unveiled a portrait this week of the late Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, who was first African American woman to launch a serious run for the White House.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Chisholm's election as a member of House of Representatives.

"When Shirley Chisholm joined our colleagues Chairman John Conyers and Chairman Charlie Rangel, among others, to found the CBC, it had just 13 members,” Pelosi said at the ceremony. “In that year, 1969, she imagined the organization that would grow to 42 members today, and serve as the conscience of the Congress. It stands as tribute to Congresswoman Chisholm's vision of a Congress that represents all Americans.”

Representing New York’s 12 Congressional District, Chisholm served for seven terms – from 1969 to 1983 – becoming the first Black woman elected to Congress.

On Jan. 25, 1972, she became the first major-party Black candidate for President of the United States and the first woman to run for the Democratic presidential nomination (Margaret Chase Smith had previously run for the Republican presidential nomination). She received 152 first-ballot votes at the 1972 Democratic National Convention.