Shirley Chisholm

Shirley Chisholm served as a New York U.S. Representative from 1969 to 1982. She was the first African American woman to serve in the United States Congress, and the first African American candidate to seek a major party's nomination for president, and the first woman to run for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.

Chisholm was born November 30, 1924, in Brooklyn, New York. From age three to ten, Chisholm lived with her grandmother in Barbados, then returned to New York. Chisholm attended Brooklyn College, graduating in 1946 with a bachelor's degree. In 1952, she earned a master's degree in elementary education from Teachers College at Columbia University. Prior to entering politics, Chisholm worked as a nursery school teacher and director of schools for early childhood education.

In 1964, Chisholm was elected to the New York State Assembly, serving until 1968. In 1968, she was elected as a United States representative. In 1972, Chisholm ran for the United States presidency, but lost the Democratic nomination. She announced her retirement from Congress in 1982.

After leaving Congress, Chisholm was a professor of politics and women's studies at Mount Holyoke College from 1983 to 1987. She cofounded the National Political Congress of Black Women in 1984, and was a supporter of the Reverend Jesse Jackson's 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns. In 1993, she turned down President Bill Clinton's offer of an ambassadorship to Jamaica.

Chisholm died on January 1, 2005.

For information on Chisholm's policy subject areas, committee appointments and sponsored/co-sponsored legislation during her time in the U.S. House of Representatives, please visit her profile on https://www.congress.gov.

Sources:

Center for American Woman and Politics. Women presidential and vice presidential candidates: A selected list. Retrieved on Feb. 18, 2020, from https://cawp.rutgers.edu/levels_of_office/women-presidential-and-vice-presidential-candidates-selected-list.

Encyclopedia of World Biography. Shirly Chisholm biography.. Retrieved on Feb. 18, 2020 from https://www.notablebiographies.com/Ch-Co/Chisholm-Shirley.html.