Chisholm, Shirley Anita St. Hill

▪ 2006

 American politician (b. Nov. 30, 1924, Brooklyn, N.Y.—d. Jan. 1, 2005, Ormond Beach, Fla.), was the first black woman to serve (1969–83) as a representative in the U.S. Congress and in 1972 became the first woman to enter the Democratic presidential primaries. Self-described as “unbought and unbossed,” she challenged the seniority system for committee assignments in Congress in order to better champion the rights of minorities and women and help improve the lives of the underprivileged. Chisholm graduated from Brooklyn College (B.A., 1946), worked in a nursery school, and then earned (1952) an M.A. at Columbia University, New York City. While working as an educational consultant in New York City, she became active in community affairs and local politics, and in 1964 she was elected to the New York state legislature. Four years later, in an upset victory, Chisholm defeated civil rights leader James Farmer for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Appointed to the Agriculture Committee, she protested that assignment and got herself reassigned first to the Veterans Affairs Committee and then to the Education and Labor Committee, a post she found more relevant to her Brooklyn working-class constituency. A liberal opposed to the Vietnam War, Chisholm entered the race for the Democratic presidential nomination to run against Pres. Richard Nixon in the 1972 election. She acknowledged having no expectation of winning but wanted to emphasize the kind of changes she thought were needed in government. Following her seven terms in Congress, Chisholm taught (1983–87) at Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Mass., was a visiting scholar (1985) at Spelman College, Atlanta, Ga., and was a popular speaker on the lecture circuit.

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