License to Thrive

Shirley Chisholm – A Politician Unbought and Unbossed

“I want history to remember me not just as the first black woman to be elected to Congress, not as the first black woman to have made a bid for the Presidency of the United States, but as a black woman who lived in the 20th century and dared to be herself.” - Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm

Hilary Clinton continues to garner enormous attention in her bid to become the first woman to be President of the United States. In 1972, the same year that the Title IX legislation was passed, Shirley Chisholm became the first African American candidate to run for the Presidency. (Note: Two other women, Linda Jenness and Evelyn Reed, ran for the Presidency that year as well)

Chisholm started her career in education and earned her Master’s degree from Teachers College at Columbia University. In 1964, Chisholm ran and was elected to the New York State Legislature. She then ran as the Democratic candidate for New York's 12th District congressional seat and was elected to the House of Representatives in 1968, defeating Republican candidate James Farmer and becoming the first African-American woman elected to Congress.

Throughout her tenure in Congress, Chisholm focused on improving opportunities for inner-city residents and the poor. She sought spending increases for health care and education and opposed the military draft. She also sought a reduction in military spending. Over the course of her seven terms, Chisholm served on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee and the Education and Labor Committee.

In addition to her political career, Chisholm was also an author. Her first book in 1970 was entitled Unbought and Unbossed. The second book, The Good Fight, was published in 1973: "…I ran for the Presidency, despite hopeless odds, to demonstrate the sheer will and refusal to accept the status quo. The next time a woman runs, or a black, or a Jew or anyone from a group that the country is ‘not ready' to elect to its highest office, I believe that he or she will be taken seriously from the start… I ran because somebody had to do it first…”

In 1994, the documentary “Shirley Chisholm: Unbought and Unbossed” was featured at the Sundance Film Festival. The documentary aired on PBS in 2005 and won a Peabody Award in 2006.

During her 1972 presidential campaign, Chisholm focused on running a grassroots campaign. For a personal account of Chisholm’s grassroots campaign in Illinois, check out the piece by Jo Freeman at www.jofreeman.com/polhistory/chisholm.htm.

Shirely Chisholm died on January 1, 2005, at the age of 80.