Shirley Chisholm

American representative (1969-1983) and social activist

• Born: November 30, 1924
• Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York
• Died: January 1, 2005
• Place of death: Ormond Beach, Florida

Chisholm was the first African American woman elected to the U.S. Congress and the first to run as a candidate for the presidency. She also was an advocate for women, children, and ethnic minorities.

Early Life

Shirley Chisholm (CHIHZ-ohlm) was born Shirley Anita St. Hill in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. Her parents were West Indian emigrants. Charles Christopher St. Hill, her father, was born in British Guiana, and her mother, Ruby Seale St. Hill, was born in Barbados. Seeking relief from the 1920 famine that besieged their homeland of Barbados, both parents migrated to were chosen. Unable to save enough money from her work as a seamstress in the garment district or his work as an unskilled laborer in a burlap bag factory, the St. Hills sent three-year-old Shirley, along with her two younger sisters, Muriel and Odessa, to Barbados to live on a farm with their maternal grandmother, Emmeline Seale.

The next seven years under the stern, disciplined eye of Grandma Seale, a towering woman who was more than six feet tall, shaped Shirley’s compassion and concern for the well-being of others and further strengthened her understanding that commitment to one’s principles, while rewarding, could be a lonely existence. The foundation of Shirley’s future academic success would be based on the structured academic environment of the British-style schools of Barbados.

The transition back into American life in 1934 at the height of the Depression was difficult for eleven-year-old Shirley. The meager resources of the St. Hill family were further divided with the arrival of baby sister Selma. The stark contrast between the warm, balmy climate of Barbados and the harsh, cold reality of New York winters made the adjustment even more painful.

The family moved from the predominantly Jewish neighborhood of Brownsville to the more ethnically diverse community of Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn. This neighborhood, which was 50 percent black, would help sharpen Shirley’s developing political awareness, especially as the economic conditions of the neighborhood worsened.

Shirley’s fertile teenage mind was challenged by the daily lectures and discussions with her father, who was largely self-educated. Charles St. Hill was a voracious reader who devoured several publications a day. Like many working-class blacks, he was an avid follower of the charismatic Pan-Africanist leader Marcus Garvey . Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), which promoted racial pride and encouraged self-sufficiency, was one of the most important black political and cultural movements during the early part of the twentieth century in the United States.

Upon returning to the New York school system, Shirley was held back in a lower grade because of her lack of knowledge about U.S. civic history. After receiving lessons, she was promoted to her appropriate grade level and quickly surpassed the efforts of many of her classmates. Chisholm would always retain one trait from her years in the Caribbean a slight, melodious West Indian accent. A petite young woman, Chisholm soon learned that her size tended to disguise her surprisingly forceful, straightforward manner.

Upon graduation from high school in 1942, Chisholm received offers to attend college at Vassar and Oberlin. Because of her family’s limited economic resources and her own desire to remain close to home, however, she accepted a scholarship to study sociology at Brooklyn College. She involved herself in several campus organizations, notably a social club that she started after an existing club denied her membership because she was black. She also was on the debating team. These activities caught the attention of one Brooklyn College professor, who encouraged her to pursue a political career. In the end, Chisholm chose to become a teacher, a more realistic career choice for African American women of her day.

In 1946, Chisholm graduated cum laude from Brooklyn College with a degree in social work. She immediately began work on a master’s degree in elementary education at Columbia University’s night school. During the day, she was employed at a local nursery school. At about this time, she met a recent Jamaican transplant, Conrad Chisholm, who was working as a waiter. They were married on October 8, 1950, and settled in Brooklyn. Conrad returned to school and then became an investigator for the New York City Department of Hospital Services.

For the next several years, Chisholm worked for a number of schools, including Friends Day Nursery in Brownsville and the Mount Calvary Child Care Center in Harlem. From 1953 to 1959, she served as director of the Hamilton-Madison Child Care Center in Lower Manhattan. She further distinguished herself as a bilingual educator because of her ability to communicate fluently in Spanish. Gradually, her reputation as a leading early-childhood specialist spread, resulting in increased demands for her services as a consultant to such organizations as the New York City Bureau of Child Welfare.

Life’s Work

Chisholm’s growing interest in politics began in the mid-1950’s when she stepped up her involvement in several organizations, including the Bedford-Stuyvesant Political League, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Democratic Women’s Workshop, and the League of Women Voters. The organization that most directly sparked Chisholm’s activism was the Seventeenth Assembly District Democratic Club. She became active in the district’s party politics after meeting an old college associate, Wesley Holder. Holder had carved out a reputation for getting black candidates elected while still remaining loyal to the white-dominated Democratic Party agenda. Chisholm’s distaste for such blind allegiance to the party machine, however, soon found her at odds with Holder and outside the club’s inner circle. This situation rendered Chisholm politically inactive for a number of years.

Chisholm reentered politics in 1960 when she helped form the Unity Democratic Club with the goal of destroying the grip the party held over her district. The club specialized in mobilizing African American and Latino voters. In 1964, Chisholm succeeded in winning a seat to the New York State assembly for the Fifty-fifth District as the first black woman from Brooklyn to serve in the state legislature. During her four years in Albany, New York, she was the only woman and one of only eight black representatives in the state assembly. As a state representative, Chisholm spearheaded the passage of a bill for unemployment insurance for domestic workers and also developed a program known as Search for Elevation, Education and Knowledge (SEEK), which was designed to increase higher-education opportunities for disadvantaged youth.

Having cut her political teeth at the state level, Chisholm beat James L. Farmer, Jr., former leader of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), in the 1968 race for the newly created Twelfth Congressional District of Brooklyn. (Farmer was running as a Republican candidate.) This new congressional district included Chisholm’s old Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, a community comprising 70 percent black and Puerto Rican residents by the late 1960’s. Her victory made her the first African American woman to win a seat to the U.S. Congress.

Hiring an all-woman staff, Chisholm immediately saw it as her task to be a champion for the underdog and a passionate critic of the Vietnam War. She proclaimed, “Women in the country must become revolutionaries. We must refuse to accept the old, the traditional roles and stereotypes.” At the same time she was pragmatic. She made it clear, for instance, that she would always align herself with the most able candidate. Accordingly, in 1969 she crossed party lines when she supported Republican candidate John Lindsay in his successful New York City mayoral bid.

During her fourteen years on Capitol Hill, Chisholm served on a number of congressional committees. She was originally appointed to the agricultural committee, but she aggressively lobbied to be removed from this committee because it did not serve the direct interests of her urban constituents. While on the education and labor committee, Chisholm worked diligently to increase the minimum wage standard and increase federal subsidies for day-care centers. Her proposed bill, however, was later vetoed by President Gerald R. Ford. Other noteworthy but unsuccessful legislation introduced by Chisholm called for increasing the level of federal reimbursement of state welfare programs to 70 percent and the establishment of a Department of Consumer Affairs as a cabinet-level position. In 1969 she became a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Always active in the women’s movement, Chisholm was involved in the early years of the National Organization for Women. She was a founding member of the National Women’s Political Caucus, was a spokeswoman for the National Abortion Rights Action League, and served as a guiding force in the formation of the National Political Congress of Black Women. From 1972 to 1976, Chisholm served on the Democratic National Committee.

Convinced that the status quo power structure of American politics needed to be changed, Chisholm decided in 1972 to run for the presidency. Returning to her old campaign slogan, Unbought and Unbossed, Chisholm waged an uphill battle against the reigning power oligarchy and many old prejudices. Despite her lack of strong financial backing, Chisholm succeeded in mounting a groundbreaking campaign, assembling a coalition of blacks, feminists, and other ethnic minorities. Nevertheless, she failed to gain the largely symbolic yet influential support of the members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Moreover, never flinching at controversy, she ignored the stir that she caused when in May she visited fellow candidate George Wallace at the hospital soon after he was shot, and she accepted the endorsement of the Black Panthers despite party disapproval. (Wallace later showed his appreciation for her gesture by gathering key political support for a bill requiring minimum wage for domestic servants.)

Losing support of even many liberal Democrats, she faced many kinds of resistance. She had to file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission to join Senator George McGovern and former vice president Hubert H. Humphrey in a televised debate for the candidates. She arrived at the 1972 Democratic National Convention with only twenty-four delegate votes; later, she received an additional 151 votes released to her by Humphrey.

Although Chisholm never expected to win, the campaign, more than any other venture, left a bitter taste, as she came to grips with the unexpected opposition she encountered from two previously supportive sectors: women’s groups and black civil rights organizations. Nevertheless, Chisholm remained convinced that her nascent journey had opened the door for future generations of women as full-fledged candidates, not simply as symbols of causes. She later said that she ran for president to inspire others to question the status quo: “I ran because somebody had to do it first. In this country everybody is supposed to be able to run for president, but that has never really been true.”

The year 1977 was a momentous time in Chisholm’s life, highlighted by her appointment to the powerful House Rules Committee. This political success was nearly overshadowed by the dissolution of her marriage to Conrad Chisholm. After her divorce became final in 1978, she married Arthur Hardwick, Jr., a black businessman and an old acquaintance from her days in the New York state assembly. In 1979, Hardwick was involved in a serious car accident, sustaining injuries that necessitated a long recovery. This personal burden combined with the pressures of a changing political atmosphere in Washington, D.C., to place Chisholm at a challenging crossroad in her career. She retired from the House of Representatives in 1983, surrendering her seat to fellow Democrat Major Owens.

After her retirement, Chisholm essentially remained out of the political arena, limiting her involvement to endorsing and advising Jesse Jackson in his 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns. Chisholm accepted an appointment as the Purington Professor at Mount Holyoke College, teaching classes in women’s studies and political science from 1983 to 1987, and she was popular on the lecture circuit as an advocate for women’s rights and for measures to relieve poverty. Her husband died from cancer in 1986. Although her outspoken nature created a stormy relationship with the Democratic Party during the 1990’s, she was nominated to serve as U.S. ambassador to Jamaica by President Bill Clinton in 1993. Ill health forced her to resign soon after taking the position.

Chisholm moved to Ormond Beach, Florida, in 1991. It was there that she died on January 1, 2005, after a series of strokes. She is buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo, New York. In addition to her work in politics, she wrote two memoirs, Unbought and Unbossed (1970) and The Good Fight (1973), and remained a popular commentator on topics relating to equality and social justice. She received several honorary doctorates and in 1993 was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame.

Significance

As an outspoken and charismatic maverick, Chisholm enjoyed a lengthy political career that witnessed many firsts. Her trailblazing journey inspired others to overcome seemingly insurmountable hurdles. Chisholm served as a voice for many who could not speak for themselves. Her political agenda included the introduction of legislation that improved conditions for women and their children and created employment opportunities for city residents. Undaunted and confident in her ability to wage “the good fight,” Chisholm continued to pursue an independent course and was proud to remain unaccountable to either a party agenda or the narrow goals of special interests. After fourteen years on Capitol Hill, Chisholm succeeded in altering and realigning portions of the Democratic Party platform to reflect her own political beliefs. Even so, she was unable to placate some interest groups and often clashed with environmentalists, whose causes sometimes placed obstacles in the way of her efforts to secure much-needed jobs for her constituents.

Chisholm’s public career inspired other women to pursue careers in politics, and her achievements helped shape and influence an entire generation of African American political leaders, most notably California congresswomen Maxine Waters and Barbara Lee and presidential candidate Jesse Jackson. In spite of the obstacles and petty feuds she faced throughout her political career, and particularly during her unconventional run for the presidency, Chisholm could look back on nearly forty years of public service as a dedicated American who had followed the advice of one of her own heroes, Eleanor Roosevelt: Never let anyone get in your way. In announcing her candidacy for the presidency on January 25, 1972, Chisholm said, “I am not the candidate of black America, although I am black and proud. I am not the candidate of the women’s movement of this country, although I am a woman and equally proud of that. I am not the candidate of the political bosses or special interests. I am the candidate of the people.”

Bibliography

Barron, James. “Shirley Chisholm Dead at Eighty; ’Unbossed’ Pioneer in Congress.” The New York Times, January 3, 2005. Obituary for Chisholm, providing an overview of her life and accomplishments as the first black woman to serve in Congress and the first woman to seek the nomination of a major political party.

Brownmiller, Susan. Shirley Chisholm: A Biography. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1970. A short biography for young readers covering Chisholm’s life from her return to New York City through her successful bid for a congressional seat.

Chisholm, Shirley. The Good Fight. New York: Harper & Row, 1973. This memoir provides Chisholm’s own perspective on the prejudices and obstacles she encountered in her unsuccessful 1972 bid for the American presidency.

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. Unbought and Unbossed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1970. Chisholm’s first autobiography profiles her early life through her election to the U.S. House of Representatives for New York’s Twelfth Congressional District in 1968.

Drotning, Philip T., and Wesley W. South. Up from the Ghetto. New York: Cowles, 1970. An entire chapter of this book is devoted to Chisholm’s effort to succeed against all odds. Places her struggle within the context of efforts by other African Americans to carve out productive careers in the face of racial prejudice and discrimination.

Duffy, Susan, comp. Shirley Chisholm: A Bibliography of Writings By and About Her. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1988. A useful source for locating writings by Chisholm, this work also serves as a good starting point for surveying the variety of sources of biographical information on Chisholm.

Gutgold, Nichola D. Paving the Way for Madam President. Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books, 2006. A brief study of women presidential candidates, including Chisholm, Margaret Chase Smith, Elizabeth Dole, Carol Moseley Braun, and others.

Pinkney, Andrea Davis. Let It Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters. San Diego, Calif.: Harcourt, 2000. A brief presentation of the history of African American women who fought for civil rights in the United States. Includes a chapter on Chisholm and her career as a political and social activist.

Scheader, Catherine. Shirley Chisholm: Teacher and Congresswoman. Hillsdale, N.J.: Enslow, 1990. A well-organized biography aimed at a juvenile audience, this work provides a straightforward overview of Chisholm’s career and accomplishments and includes some discussion of her activities after leaving Congress.

Steinem, Gloria. “Shirley Chisholm: Front-Runner.” New York, January 17, 2005. A tribute to Chisholm written by noted feminist and writer Gloria Steinem.