Shirley Anita Chisholm is best known as the first Black woman to be elected to the United States Congress in 1968, representing New York's 12th congressional district. She served for seven terms, and in the process ran for the 1972 Democratic nomination for the presidency, becoming the first major-party Black candidate to make a bid for the U.S. presidency, as well as the first woman. Throughout her political career, she was an advocate for education and social justice.
Chisholm was born Shirley Anita St. Hill on November 30, 1924 in Brooklyn, New York and spent part of her childhood with her grandmother in Barbados, from where her family had immigrated. She attended Brooklyn College, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1946, started her career as a teacher, and went on to earn a master's degree in elementary education from Columbia University.
In the 1950s, Chisholm was an education consultant for New York City’s daycare division and active with community and political groups, including the NAACP and the League of Women Voters. In 1960, she joined her district’s newly founded Unity Democratic Club (UDC). When, in 1964, the leader of the UDC accepted a judicial appointment rather than run for reelection, Chisholm fought for his seat in the New York state assembly. Despite significant resistance from the men around her, she took her position in December 1964, sitting in the 175th, 176th, and 177th New York State Legislatures until 1968, when she won her historical position in Congress under a campaign slogan of “Unbought and Unbossed.” She would also use this mantra later in the presidential primary race.
During her tenure in Congress, which lasted until 1983, Chisholm was placed on the Veterans' Affairs Committee before eventually obtaining her desired position on the Education and Labor Committee. She founded the National Women’s Political Caucus, adamantly supporting the Equal Rights Amendment and legalized abortions.
Chisholm authored two books, “Unbought and Unbossed” and “The Good Fight.” After retiring from Congress, she taught at Mount Holyoke College, holding the position of Purington Professor, and was a visiting scholar at Spelman College. She was also active on the lecturing circuit, visiting over 150 campuses.
Chisholm was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1993 and passed away in 2005. A decade later, in 2015, she was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.