Shirley Chisholm is widely known for her historic turning point in 1972 when she became the first African American from a major political party to run for president and the first female Democrat of any race to do so. But Chisholm’s presidential candidacy was far from being Chisholm’s only accomplishment in his 80-year life.
Born Shirley Anita St. Hill to a Guyanese American father and a Barbadian American mother in Brooklyn, New York, on November 30, 1924, Chisholm excelled first in school and then in her political career.
Chisholm came from a low income neighborhood in New York
At a young age, Chisholm demonstrated that she had an aptitude for academics and activism. “She came from one of New York’s poorest communities,” says Julie Gallagher, associate professor of American history and studies at Penn State Brandywine and author of Black Women and Politics in New York. “Her parents struggled through the economic crisis and faced discrimination, but she was incredibly smart, and it was recognized.
Chisholm spent part of her childhood in Barbados with her grandmother, then attended the prestigious Girls’ High School in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. Chisholm went on to Brooklyn College, where she received awards for her skills as a debater, joined the Delta Sigma Theta sorority and the Harriet Tubman Society. While a student, Chisholm advocated for an African-American history program and for more women to be leaders of the student government, among other causes.
Representative Shirley Chisholm dedicates a playground named after her to Willoughby Houses in Brooklyn, New York, 1971.
Hyman Rothman / New York Daily News Archive / Getty Images
She obtained a master’s degree in elementary education
Chisholm graduated from Brooklyn College in 1946 and received her Masters in Elementary Education from Teachers College at Columbia University five years later. Her education and work experience in preschools then helped her advocate for early childhood education and working mothers. In 1954, Chisholm became director of the Hamilton-Madison Child Care Center, and later consulted for the New York City Bureau of Child Welfare.
She campaigned for Brooklyn’s first black judge
Chisholm launched her political career in 1953 when she campaigned for Lewis Flagg Jr. to become Brooklyn’s first black judge, which led her to become involved in the Belford-Stuyvesant Political League, a group that fought for economic empowerment and civil rights. From there, she participated in other political groups, including the League of Women Voters, the Brooklyn Democratic Clubs, and the Unity Democratic Club.
She served in the New York State Assembly
Chisholm drew on her background in the Brooklyn political scene to successfully run for the New York State Assembly in 1964. She held this position from 1965 to 1968, and her major accomplishments include the provision of unemployment benefits to domestic workers and a program which gave the opportunity to disadvantaged students. attend university while taking remedial courses. Young people in New York continue to benefit from these programs today.
“Her rise to the New York State Assembly has enabled her to take bold action around issues important to working New Yorkers,” said Glynda Carr, president and CEO of Higher Heights for America, a group advocacy focused on increasing the political representation of black women. “When you look at the legislation and the issues it defended, it comes from her immigrant background.”
Democratic presidential nomination contestants on Meet the Press, 1972. (Left to right, top row) Senator George McGovern (DS.D.); Senator Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota; Senator Edmund Muskie of Maine; (left to right, bottom) Senator Henry Jackson of Washington; and Representative Shirley Chisholm from New York.
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She was the first black woman elected to Congress
Using the motto “unclaimed and unponsored,” which she would also call her 1970 autobiography, Chisholm ran for the seat in New York’s 12th Congressional District in 1968 and won, becoming the first African-American woman elected. in the United States House of Representatives.
Chisholm was an active member of the House during her tenure, which lasted from 1969 to 1983. She served on various committees, including the House Agriculture Committee, the Veterans Committee and the Education Committee. and work. She later joined the Rules Committee, which she said gave her more weight than her previous committees; she was the first black woman to serve in this capacity.
His presidential candidacy brought racial and gender equality to the national stage
It was during her tenure as a congressman that Chisholm launched her 1972 presidential bid. She became the first black person to seek the presidential nomination from one of the two main parties (the first woman was Margaret Chase Smith, who sought the Republican nomination in 1964).
During his run, Chisholm pushed a platform focused on racial and gender equity, elevating these issues to the national stage. (She also adopted yellow and purple as her campaign colors, which may have inspired future politicians, including Vice President Kamala Harris, to wear purple in her honor.)
READ MORE: Why Shirley Chisholm Ran As President
She advocated for reproductive rights
In Congress, Chisholm was appointed Honorary co-chair of the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (NARAL) in 1969 and became a co-founder of the National Organization for Women (NOW) in 1970.
“Here is a woman who fought for the reproductive rights of her community at a time when that was not necessarily the burning issue,” says Carr. “She knew that economically prosperous and secure communities were linked to education and health care, and that health care included the reproductive rights of women.”
Rep. Shirley Chisholm (D-Brooklyn), supporting striking hospital workers, January 24, 1969.
Leroy Jakob / NY Daily News Archive / Getty Images
She fought to expand food stamp programs and raise the minimum wage
In 1971, Chisholm became a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus and the National Women’s Political Caucus. His efforts to expand the food stamp program and to establish the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children are part of Chisholm’s enduring contributions as a member of Congress. During this time, Chisholm also wrote his second book, The good fight, published in 1973.
In 1974, one of Chisholm’s most important laws – the 1974 Minimum Wage Act – was passed by Congress. This bill broadened minimum wage standards to apply to domestic workers, as well as to more public and local government employees. “It was absolutely another of his significant accomplishments,” says Gallagher.
READ MORE: Minimum wage in America: a timeline
Chisholm served in a leadership position in Congress, secretary of the Democratic House Caucus, from 1977 to 1981. After her second husband, former New York State Congressman, Arthur Hardwick Jr., was seriously injured during a car accident, Chisholm announced in 1982 that she was leaving politics to treat him.
She co-founded the National Congress of Black Women
After retiring from Congress, Chisholm was appointed Purington President at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts.
In 1984, she and C. Delores Tucker co-founded the National Congress of Black Women, and in 1990, she co-founded African American Women for Reproductive Freedom.
Representative Shirley Chisholm receives petitions from William Merchant asking Congress to designate January 15 as a national holiday in honor of Martin Luther King.
Charles Frattini / New York Daily News Archive / Getty Images
She has been asked to serve as an ambassador to Jamaica
When President Bill Clinton appointed her United States Ambassador to Jamaica in 1993, Chisholm’s poor health prevented her from accepting the honor. She died 12 years later in Ormond Beach, Fla., But the politician, inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame, went on to earn posthumous accolades.
President Barack Obama awarded Chisholm a Presidential Medal of Freedom at a ceremony at the White House in 2015, and the year before, the US Postal Service issued a “forever stamp” in his honor.
Of her legacy, Chisholm once said, “I want to be remembered as a woman… who dared to be a catalyst for change.”
