If They Don’t Give You a Seat at the Table, Bring in a Folding Chair

Shirley Chisholm? Donna Brazile? Barbara Lee? Giovanni Piccolino? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: A politician who advocated for inclusive decision-making used the following metaphorical expression to encourage activists to demand representation:

If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring in a folding chair.

This saying has been attributed to U.S. Congress member Shirley Chisholm and U.S. political strategist Donna Brazile. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Shirley Chisholm died in January 2005, and shortly afterward “People” magazine published a tribute to her which included a remark from Donna Brazile who credited Chisholm with the expression. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:^[1]2005 January 17, People, Tribute: Shirley Chisholm 1924-2005, A political trailblazer, she made history as the first black woman in Congress, Quote Page 108, Time Inc., New York. (EBSCO Academic … Continue reading

Democratic party activist and longtime friend Donna Brazile still recalls the advice Chisholm once gave her: “She said, ‘If you wait for a man to give you a seat, you’ll never have one! If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring in a folding chair.’”

The excerpt above contains the earliest match located by QI. This citation provides substantive support for the ascription Shirley Chisholm.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

A separate Quote Investigator article is available here about the following thematically related saying: “If You Are Not at the Table Then You’re Probably on the Menu”.

In 2012 “The Times Leader” newspaper of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania quoted a political appointee named Giovanni Piccolino who referred to the saying indirectly. Piccolino planned to a attend a governmental meeting even though one of his colleagues had been recently snubbed:^[2]2010 April 18, The Times Leader, Snubbed authority appointee appeals to council by Rich Howells, (Continuation title: Council), Start Page 5A, Quote Page 10A, Column 5, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. … Continue reading

Piccolino says he plans to attend the Parking Authority’s meeting next Wednesday and hopes to be recognized in his council-appointed position.

“I’ll bring a folding chair,” he joked, referring to the Redevelopment Authority not offering Sbaraglia a seat at their table.

In 2015 Shirley Chisholm was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. On this occasion U.S. Congress member Barbara Lee of California made a statement attributing the quotation directly to Chisholm:^[3]2015 November 24, News Release from U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Lee of California Congressional Documents and Publications, Congresswoman Lee’s Statement on Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm Being … Continue reading

“As we celebrate Congresswoman Chisholm’s remarkable life with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, I encourage all to heed her words of wisdom: ‘If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring in a folding chair.’”

In 2016 “The Humanist” journal published a profile of Shirley Chisholm. The piece began with the following epigraph. The phrasing differed a bit from the version in “People”. The word “in” was omitted:^[4]2016 May-June, The Humanist, Volume 76, Issue 3, Humanist Profile: Shirley Chisholm, (Quotation appears as epigraph of article), Quote Page 0_2, American Humanist Association, Washington, D.C. … Continue reading

“If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.”
—Shirley Chisholm, advising longtime friend Donna Brazile

In 2020 U.S. Congress member Barbara Lee tweeted the following:^[5] Tweet, From: Rep. Barbara Lee @RepBarbaraLee, Time: 9:41 PM EST, Date: Aug 11, 2020, Text: My mentor Shirley Chisholm always told me. (Accessed on twitter.com on December 3, 2022) link

My mentor Shirley Chisholm always told me, “if they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.”

In conclusion, QI believes this quotation should be attributed to Shirley Chisholm based on the Donna Brazile’s remark crediting Chisholm in “People” magazine in 2005.

Image Notes: Picture of folding chairs in the Alps mountain range from onkelglocke at Pixabay. Image has been resized.

(Great thanks to Tim McCormick and Anastasia Curwood whose discussion thread on twitter led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration. Thanks also to Jane Bella who shared her research on this topic with QI.)

Update History: On December 3, 2022 the tweet from 2020 was added to the article. Also, the link to the QI article titled “If You Are Not at the Table Then You’re Probably on the Menu” was added to the article.