Shirley Chisholm
1924-2005
By Debra Michals, PhD | 2015
Shirley Anita St. HillChisholm was the first African American woman in Congress (1968) and the first woman and African American to seek the nomination for president of the United States from one of the two major political parties (1972). Her motto and title of her autobiography—Unbought andUnbossed—illustrates her outspoken advocacy for women and minorities during her seven terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 30, 1924, Chisholm was the oldest of four daughters to immigrant parentsCharles St. Hill, a factory worker from Guyana, and Ruby Seale St. Hill, a seamstress from Barbados.She graduated from Brooklyn Girls’ High in 1942 and from Brooklyn College cum laude in 1946, where she won prizes on the debate team. Although professors encouraged her to consider a political career, she replied that she faceda “double handicap” as both Black and female.
Initially, Chisholm worked as a nursery school teacher. In 1949, she married Conrad Q. Chisholm, a private investigator(they divorced in 1977). She earned a master’s degree from Columbia University in early childhood education in 1951. By 1960, she was a consultant to the New York City Division of Day Care. Ever aware of racial and gender inequality, she joined local chapters of theLeague of Women Voters, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Urban League, as well as theDemocratic Party club in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.
In 1964, Chisholm ran for and became the second African American in the New York State Legislature. After court-ordered redistricting created a new, heavily Democratic, district in her neighborhood, in 1968 Chisholm sought—and won—a seat in Congress. There, “Fighting Shirley” introduced more than 50 pieces of legislation and championed racial and gender equality, the plight of the poor, and ending the Vietnam War. She was a co-founder of the National Women's Political Caucus in 1971, and in 1977 became the first Black woman and second woman ever to serve on the powerful House Rules Committee. That year she married Arthur HardwickJr., a New York State legislator.
Discrimination followed Chisholm’s quest for the 1972 Democratic Party presidential nomination. She was blocked from participating in televised primary debates, and after taking legal action, was permitted to make just one speech. Still, students, women, and minorities followed the “Chisholm Trail.” She entered 12 primaries and garnered 152 of the delegates’ votes (10% of the total)—despite an under-financed campaign and contentiousness from the predominantly male Congressional Black Caucus.
Chisholm retired from Congress in 1983. She taught at Mount Holyoke College and co-founded the National Political Congress of Black Women. In 1991 she moved to Florida, and later declined the nomination to become U.S.Ambassador to Jamaica due to ill health. Of her legacy, Chisholm said, “I want to be remembered as a woman … who dared to be a catalyst of change.”
Works Cited
Chisholm, Shirley. Unbossed and Unbought: Expanded 40th Anniversary Edition. Brooklyn: Take Root Media, 2010.
Chisholm ‘72: Unbossed and Unbought. DVD. Directed by Shola Lynch. 20th Century Fox, 2005. DVD.
United States House of Representatives, History, Art and Archives. “Biography: Chisholm, Shirley Anita. Accessed September 9, 2014.
Winslow, Barbara. Shirley Chisholm: Catalyst for Change. Boulder: Westview Press, 2013.
PHOTO: Library of Congress
How to Cite this page
MLA - Michals, Debra. "Shirley Chisholm." National Women's History Museum. National Women's History Museum, 2015. Date accessed.
Chicago - Michals, Debra. "Shirley Chisholm." National Women's History Museum. 2015. www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/shirley-chisholm.
Related Biographies
Biography
Stacey Abrams
Abrams is now one of the most prominent African American female politicians in the United States.
READ MORE
Biography
Abigail Smith Adams
Abigail Adams was an early advocate for women's rights.
READ MORE
Biography
Jane Addams
A progressive social reformer and activist, Jane Addams was on the frontline of the settlement house movement and was the first American woman to wina Nobel Peace Prize.
READ MORE
Biography
Toshiko Akiyoshi
Toshiko Akiyoshi changed the face of jazz music over her 60-year career. As one of few women and Asian musicians in the jazz world, Akiyoshi infused Japanese culture, sounds, and instruments into her music.
READ MORE
Related Background
Lesson Plan
“When We Sing, We Announce Our Existence”: Bernice Johnson Reagon and the American Spiritual'
Students will read and listen to the music of Bernice Johnson Reagon, using the words of Ella Baker (Ella’s Song) and a PBS essay in order to make connections to historical and contemporary pursuits for justice.
READ MORE
Lesson Plan
Mary Church Terrell
This 3-part lesson will give the students a basic understanding of Mary Church Terrell and prepare them for future studies on the early 20th century Women’s Suffrage Movement in the United States.
READ MORE
Lesson Plan
Belva Lockwood and the Precedents She Set for Women’s Rights
This lesson examines the life and career of Belva Lockwood, 19th century lawyer and women’s right advocate whose achievements opened the door for others to follow.
READ MORE
Lesson Plan
Women’s Rights LAB: Black Women’s Clubs
In this lesson, students will examine the history of Black Women’s Clubs through the lenses of leadership, action, and bravery along with analyzing the role Black Women’s Clubs played in the Women’s Suffrage movement.
READ MORE