Decades before the historic match between Senators Clinton and Obama, African American women have run for the office of President of the United States of America. 

In fact, one such candidate is running in 2008, under the Green Party banner.

This is an overview of African American women candidates. It is by no means complete, and is limited to candidates put forth by recognized political parties, big and small.

The range and diversity of opinions and issues among these candidates is notable. 

Representative Cynthia McKinney, Green Party Presidential Candidate for 2008, is the first African American woman candidate be nominated for President of the United States of America by a federally recognized political party.

Rep. McKinney served two Congressional terms as a Democrat (11th District, 1993-2003 and 4th District, 2005-2007) from the State of Georgia.

In deep disenchantment and frustration, Rep. McKinney left the Democratic Party in 2007. She moved to California, joined the Green Party, and successfully won that party's nomination for the 2008 Presidential Election, choosing activist, organizer and independent journalist Rosa Clemente as her running mate.

The McKinney campaign seeks to educate and to inform about issues and viewpoints that receive little hearing in public discourse. However, her campaign, like the other third party and independent campaigns, is challenged by a lack of media coverage and omission from debates.

Official McKinney/Clemente campaign site.

Representative Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm (D-NY) should have had a third middle name: First.

Rep. Chisholm was the first African American woman to:

• Serve as Assemblywoman on the New York State Legislature (1964-1968).
• Serve as a member of Congress (1969-1983).
• Become an official candidate for Presidential nomination by a major political party, and the first to make it on the ballot (1972).

Rep. Chisholm made the primary ballot in 12 states, and she won 151.95 delegate votes. The campaign spent and raised about $300,000 (this was just before new laws required extensive campaign recordkeeping and report-filing).

The Chisholm campaign was meant to teach, with no expectation of a win. However, after the campaign, Rep. Chisholm remarked that if she had to do it again, she would do it differently, to achieve a greater impact.

Only 25 African American women have served in the House of Representatives since Rep. Chisholm won her first pioneering term. 

Dr. Lenora B. Fulani, developmental psychologist and activist, was the first African American woman Presidential candidate to make the ballot in all 50 states -- and to receive federal matching funds --  in her campaign for the New Alliance Party in 1988. She made a second run in 1992.

Dr. Fulani subsequently founded national stategy center and organizing hub, Independents.org, based in New York City. The organization campaigned vigorously for New York Mayor Bloomberg, and the New York chapter endorses John McCain.

Dr. Fulani recently formed an exploratory committee for a possible 2009 run for citywide office in New York City.

Senator Carole Moseley-Braun became the first African American woman to serve on the U.S. Senate (1993-1999). To date -- October 2008 -- none have succeeded her. 

After she lost her bid for re-election, President Clinton appointed Moseley-Braun U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand. She served in that position until the end of the Clinton Administration. 

Carole Moseley-Braun sought the Democratic nomination for the 2004 Presidential Election, but could not garner enough support to continue her run. She resigned from the race in 2003, giving her supporters to Howard Dean.

Good question. Why do African American women, and other unconventional candidates, put themselves through the money-bleeding ordeal involved in running even the smallest Presidential campaign?

For answers, first look at the 2008 presidential campaign. Then go beyond the political realm, and look at the movements to abolish slavery, establish voting rights for all U.S. citizens, and create better conditions for workers. Just to name a few.

Historic change happens only after many attempts made "at the wrong time." Without those efforts, the right time can never come.