American politics lost two important voices over the weekend.

Former Rep. Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to Congress, and Rep. Robert Matsui have died.

Chisholm, who died Saturday at 80 years old, was first elected to Congress in 1968. For seven terms in the House of Representatives, she advocated for minorities and women. She ran for president in 1972, and put compassion over bitter partisan and racial divides when she reached out to George Wallace after he was shot.

Matsui, 63, also died Saturday. He was a high-ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee, a staunch defender of Social Security and a proponent of free trade. Matsui was born in Sacramento, Calif., in 1941. When he was just 6 months old, he and his Japanese-American parents were shipped from their home to an internment camp where the family was imprisoned for more than three years. There was no trial, no suspicion of criminal activity. Just a legacy of ostracism and shame.

In 1988, it was Matsui’s work that finally compelled the U.S. government to apologize for the unlawful imprisonment of more than 120,000 people, most of whom were U.S. citizens and half of whom were children, during World War II.

The passing of these two advocates should be marked.