Black History Month Spotlight: 5 Things to Know About Shirley Chisholm

In honor of Black History Month, The Herstory Blog will highlight African American women who have made an impact on U.S. history. The first woman in our spotlight series is former Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm (1924-2005), and here are 5 things you need to know about her:

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1. She was the Daughter of Immigrants

Shirley was born on November 30, 1924 in Brooklyn, New York to Charles St. Hill, a factory worker from Guyana, and Ruby Seale St. Hill, a seamstress from Barbados. While her parents worked hard to financially provide for Shirley and her 3 younger sisters, she spent part of her childhood on her maternal grandmother's farm in Barbados.

2. She was a Preschool Teacher

Although her teachers encouraged her to pursue a career in politics due to her success on the speech and debate team in high school, she wasn't convinced that it was the right path for her. According to the National Women's History Museum she felt "that she faced a 'double handicap' as both black and female." Instead, she worked as a nursery school teacher, and she would earn a Master's degree in early childhood education from Columbia University in 1951. She would eventually return to teaching after her political career and lecture at both Mount Holyoke College and Spelman College.

3. She was the 1st African American Congresswoman

In 1964, Shirley Chisholm was the 2nd African American to successfully win a seat on the New York State Legislature, and in 1968 she became the 1st African American woman to win a seat in Congress's House of Representatives. According to Britannica, "In Congress she quickly became known as a strong liberal who opposed weapons development and the war in Vietnam and favoured full-employment proposals."

4. She was the 1st African American to Seek a Presidential Nomination

In 1972, Shirley Chisholm entered the race for the democratic presidential nomination on the platform of reaching minorities and the inner-city poor. According to History, Art & Archives: House of Representatives, "She campaigned across the country and succeeded in getting her name on 12 primary ballots, becoming as well known outside her Brooklyn neighborhood as she was in it. At the Democratic National Convention she received 152 delegate votes, or 10 percent of the total, a respectable showing given her modest funding." Due to divisive attitudes among the party about women in politics, she never was able to garner more significant support among democrats and lost the nomination to Senator George McGovern (who would lose to the incumbent, President Richard Nixon).

5. She Founded the National Women's Political Caucus

Shirley was known as a champion of gender and racial equality, and the challenges facing the poor in America's inner cities. In 1971, she founded the National Women's Political Caucus with major names in the women's rights movement such as Gloria Steinem, Bella Abzug, Elly Peterson, and Fannie Lou Hammer. According to the National Women's Political Caucus, the women were "Spurred by Congress’ failure to pass the Equal Rights Amendment in 1970, these women believed legal, economic and social equity would come about only when women were equally represented among the nation’s political decision-makers."

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Shirley Chisholm's life and legacy has influenced a new generation of women leaders, with the House of Representatives now having a record of 102 women from all walks of life. In fact, Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA), a biracial woman of Indian and African American descent, symbolically announced her run for president on the 47th anniversary of Chisholm's announcement that she would run. It seems as if Shirley's fighting spirit is still alive and strong among female politicians even in 2019.

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Sources:

https://theslot.jezebel.com/kamala-harris-pays-homage-to-shirley-chisholm-in-her-pr-1831925814

http://www.nwpc.org/history/

https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/10918

https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/shirley-chisholm

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Shirley-Chisholm