WASHINGTON, D.C. – Dr. Pamela Pugh, President of the Michigan State Board of Education and a nationally recognized public health advocate, has been named a 2025 recipient of the Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm Unbought & Unbossed Award. The award was presented on Thursday, September 25, 2025, during the Shirley A. Chisholm Legacy Reception, a featured event of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference, at the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill.
The event, hosted by the Metro Detroit Congress of Black Women, Supermajority, Our Own Backbone, Alvin Jones Communications, Trillion Realty LLC and the African American Leadership Institute, honors bold, visionary leaders who, like Congresswoman Chisholm, have lived and led with courage, authenticity and an unwavering commitment to justice. Other 2025 honorees include Santita Jackson, Isaiah Thomas, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib and Michigan Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist II.
“It is with deep gratitude that I accept this award,” said Dr. Pugh. “These are tough times but we get through them together. That doesn’t mean we will always agree on the route. What we know is that we must keep moving forward together, and as women we must lift each other up in the spirit of Shirley Chisholm.
Dr. Pugh added a personal tribute: “I also want to honor the women who first taught me what it means to be unbought and unbossed, my mother, my sisters and my aunts. Their steadfast love, example and encouragement have been my foundation. They remind me daily that this fight is never walked alone.”
A scientist and trailblazing public servant, Dr. Pugh has devoted her career to advancing public health, environmental health and educational equity. As a key public health official during the Flint Water Crisis, she helped lead the fight for clean water and health protections. As Michigan State Board of Education president, she has championed fair funding, literacy, and safe, thriving schools for every child.
“Being unbought and unbossed is not just a motto; it’s a charge,” Dr. Pugh said. “It calls us to stand firm when powerful interests try to silence us and to build bridges even as we hold the line on principle. I accept this award not only as a personal honor, but as a collective call to keep lifting each other and to keep making good trouble until every child, every family, every community is free to thrive.”
About the Shirley Chisholm Unbought & Unbossed Award
The Shirley Chisholm Unbought & Unbossed Award is named for Congresswoman Shirley A. Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Congress and the first Black woman to seek a major party’s presidential nomination. The award celebrates leaders whose courage and conviction inspire systemic change. The Shirley Chisholm Legacy Reception is traditionally part of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference (CBC ALC) week.
