Shirley Chisholm: Presidential Contender
Posted on Thursday, March 19th, 2009 and is filed under Political & General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Do you think President Barack Obama was the first African-American to run for United States’ president? Think again. Then meet Shirley Chisholm, an African-American woman who ran for U.S. president in 1972.
Many of you may remember when Reverend Jessie Jackson ran for the presidency in 1984, but some of you may not be old enough–or simply too young to care–when Shirley Chisholm ran for president in the early 70s.
The daughter of immigrants, Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm would live a life exemplifying the American dream. Born in Brooklyn, New York, she spent her early years in Barbados, returning to the United States in 1934 when she was 10 years old. She stayed in the neighborhood, first earning her BA at Brooklyn College, then moving on to an MA in elementary education from Columbia University in 1952. It was while studying at Columbia that she met her husband, Jamaican private investigator Conrad Chisholm. The couple would split 28 years later, in 1977.
Shirley Chisholm spent the next 11 years as both director and consultant for several childcare centers. It was here, serving disadvantaged children, that she developed her passion, and ability, for public service. It was also here, in her hometown, where she would run for congress.
Representing New York’s 12th Congressional District, which serves part of Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn, Shirley Chisholm distinguished herself among her peers in the Democratic Party and in the House of Representatives. Holding her seat from 1969 to 1983, Chisholm co-sponsored the Equal Rights Amendment, legislation to establish day care centers nationwide, and opposed the war in Vietnam, voting against all military appropriations. While she may be remembered for being the first black woman to serve in Congress, her legislative record spoke for itself.
Congresswoman Chisholm garnered national attention in 1972 when she ran for president of the United States in the Democratic primaries. Her slogan was, “Unbought and Unbossed.” The 1972 Democratic National Convention was one of the most troubled and bizarre in American history, with controversy and arguments dragging on for hours. When the dust settled and the delegates were counted, the Democratic nominee was George McGovern. However, Shirley Chisholm successfully won 152 delegates, surprising in a year that saw the pro-segregationist George Wallace receive massive support from within the Democratic Party. Shirley knew she wouldn’t win the bid for United States’ president, but she wanted to challenge the status quo.
While she may be remembered as the first black presidential candidate to emerge from a major party, Shirley Chisholm made a number of more tangible accomplishments in her life. Author of two books
Shirley Chisholm passed away in 2005 after retiring to Florida. She lived a tremendous life of service, accomplishing not only historic firsts, but tangible legislative triumphs for her district and country. In some ways, she represents all that was best about the troubled times in which she worked. Her tireless service brought her great reward and increasing respect in a society where social equality was a controversial issue.
Unbought and Unbossed DVD, a documentary of her run for president
