For years the title of “first female presidential candidate” was given to Hilary Clinton, but this title was foolishly given; the true owner of this title was Shirley Chisholm. Accomplishing a multitude of awards, titles, and jobs in her life, Shirley Chisholm did not start off as well as most. Born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 30, 1924, Chisholm attended Brooklyn Girl’s school and graduated cum laude (3.5-3.7 GPA) in 1946. While in school, she won multiple awards for debate and all of her professors encouraged her political career.
Initially, Chisholm began her career as a nursery school teacher. She married her husband, Conrad Q. Chisholm who was a private investigator, in 1949. By 1951 she had completed her master’s degree in early childhood education, at Columbia University. Moving quickly, in 1960 she was a consultant for the New York City Division of Daycare. She was well aware of the stigma that came with being African American and a woman would not end well in the political sector. Yet, she persisted in having a political career.
In 1964, Chisholm became the first female African American in the New York legislature and the second overall African American elected in. Her new nickname, “Fighting Shirley,” gave her name a new meaning, she brought forth 50 pieces of legislation and continued to battle the racial and gender inequalities. Although Chisholm was not satisfied yet, she co-founded the National Women’s Political Caucus in 1971. After divorcing her husband, Chisholm took to the polls and became the first-ever African American and second ever female to be elected into the House Rules Committee. Later on, in the year she found love and remarried Aurthur Hardwick Jr. who was a New York legislator.
While Shirley Chisholm was a vivacious woman, discrimination followed her everywhere. When she ran for president she was blocked from televised debates, but she knew full well this was not fair and took legal action. She was permitted to make 1 speech only. To this day students are still following her magnificent trail and read her autobiography. Despite her heavily underfunded campaign, she managed to gain about 15-20% of the votes!
In 1983 Chisholm retired from Congress. She spent her last years teaching at Mount Holyoke College and co-founding the National Political Congress of Black Women. She moved to Florida in 1991 and was offered the position of U.S. ambassador to Jamaica, she politely declined. When asked about her career, she stated “I want to be remembered as a woman … who dared to be a catalyst of change.”
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/shirley-chisholm