Sharpton compares Ocasio-Cortez to Chisholm at voting rights march

Civil rights leader the Rev. Al Sharpton, one of the organizers of this year’s March on Washington , compared New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D) to the late congresswoman and presidential candidate Shirley Chisholm (D-N.Y.) while introducing her at the event.

“I know people, I was Shirley Chisolm’s youth director,” Sharpton stated on stage while introducing Ocasio-Cortez, before declaring Chisolm “had the same fire and vigor as this beloved sister of mine,” referring to Ocasio-Cortez.

During his introduction, Sharpton also called Ocasio-Cortez “a sister beloved who has stood up on these issues and spoke out on what needed to be said.”

The comparison is notable as speculation mounts about Ocasio-Cortez potentially launching a presidential campaign of her own in 2028, with many seeing her as a potential standard-bearer for the Democratic Party’s left flank in the upcoming primary.

Chisolm, who like Ocasio-Cortez represented New York City in Congress, became the first Black woman to be elected to Congress in 1968. She became the first Black candidate to seek a major party’s presidential nomination and the first woman to seek the Democratic nomination.

Ocasio-Cortez spoke immediately following Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (I), the progressive juggernaut. He fell short of earning the presidential nomination in both the 2016 and 2020 Democratic primaries.

The speculation around the New York congresswoman comes as democratic socialists and progressives have notched several key victories this primary season and her name appears near the top of or leading most polls of Democratic presidential hopefuls.