Biography of Shirley Chisholm (1924–2005)
The eldest of four daughters, Shirley Chisholm was born in 1924 in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. Her father—a factory worker from Guyana—and her mother—a seamstress and domestic worker from Barbados—emigrated to New York during the famines of the 1920s. In 1927, Shirley and her sisters moved to Barbados to live on their grandmother’s farm, where they remained until 1934. Back in New York, Shirley went on to graduate from Brooklyn College, where she won prizes in debating, and to earn a master’s degree in elementary education from Columbia University. Shirley began her career as a nursery school teacher, moved on to direct several day care centers, and came to be known as an authority on early education and child welfare.
Shirley got her start in politics as an educational consultant in the day care division of the city’s Bureau of Child Welfare from 1959 to 1964, where she was a staunch advocate for early schooling. During that time she became active with organizations including the Bedford-Stuyvesant Political League and the League of Women Voters. Shirley also challenged the balance of power within Brooklyn’s Democratic Party establishment, and began to establish a reputation for being a maverick who was unafraid to confront inequity and the status quo.
Shirley’s belief that serving people was more important than bowing to politicians won her a seat in the New York State Assembly in 1964 and then the U.S. House of Representatives in 1968, where she was the first black woman elected to Congress. Shirley immediately challenged the seniority system in the House after being placed on the Agriculture Committee, an assignment she considered completely unrelated to her urban district. Though the House Speaker told her to “be a good soldier” and accept the assignment, Shirley confronted the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and was eventually reassigned to the Veterans Affairs Committee, and later to the Education and Labor Committees.
In her first statement as a Congressperson before the U.S. House of Representatives, Shirley made clear her commitment to the needs of children and the disadvantaged, and proclaimed her intent to “vote No on every money bill that comes to the floor of this House that provides any funds for the Department of Defense.”
During her fourteen years in the House, Shirley fought for the rights of women, Native Americans, Haitian refugees, migrant farm workers and the poor. She worked on behalf of Black colleges and took stands on issues including the Vietnam War, compensatory education and minimum wage for domestic workers. Shirley was an early member of the National Organization for Women, a co-founder of the National Women's Political Caucus, and a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Shortly after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, Michigan Congressman John Conyers introduced legislation for a national holiday in King’s honor. When those efforts were stalled in Congress, Shirley joined forces with Conyers to resubmit the measure every legislative session until it passed in 1983.
In 1972, Shirley became the first woman to campaign for the Democratic nomination for President. She shocked the country when she paid a hospital visit to rival candidate George C. Wallace, the Alabama governor who built his political career on
segregation, after he had been wounded in an assassination attempt in 1972. “Black people in my community crucified me,” she recalled. “But why shouldn’t I go to visit him?…He said to me, ‘What are your people going to say?’ I said: ‘I know what
they’re going to say. But I wouldn't want what happened to you to happen to anyone.’ He cried and cried and cried.”
Though Shirley did not win a single primary during the 1972 presidential election, she captured over 150 votes on the first ballot and later said her campaign had been a necessary “catalyst for change.” Shirley went on to serve for ten more years in
the House and retired in 1982 after seven terms in Congress.
Shirley kept active in politics following her retirement by co-founding the National Political Congress of Black Women and serving as its chairwoman from its founding in 1984 until 1992. Shirley also lectured, taught at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, and wrote two books, including her autobiography, Unbought and Unbossed, which was the campaign slogan she used in her first race for Congress.
Shirley married twice, but had no children. Her 1949 marriage to Conrad Chisholm ended in divorce in February, 1977. Later that year she married Arthur Hardwick, Jr., who died in 1986. Shirley moved to Florida in 1991 and died at the age of 80 on January 1, 2005 at her home in Ormond Beach.
Asked how she hoped to be remembered, Shirley once commented, “I’d like them to say that Shirley Chisholm had guts. That’s how I'd like to be remembered.”
Copyright 2005 Anti-Defamation League
Shirley got her start in politics as an educational consultant in the day care division of the city’s Bureau of Child Welfare from 1959 to 1964, where she was a staunch advocate for early schooling. During that time she became active with organizations including the Bedford-Stuyvesant Political League and the League of Women Voters. Shirley also challenged the balance of power within Brooklyn’s Democratic Party establishment, and began to establish a reputation for being a maverick who was unafraid to confront inequity and the status quo.
Shirley’s belief that serving people was more important than bowing to politicians won her a seat in the New York State Assembly in 1964 and then the U.S. House of Representatives in 1968, where she was the first black woman elected to Congress. Shirley immediately challenged the seniority system in the House after being placed on the Agriculture Committee, an assignment she considered completely unrelated to her urban district. Though the House Speaker told her to “be a good soldier” and accept the assignment, Shirley confronted the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and was eventually reassigned to the Veterans Affairs Committee, and later to the Education and Labor Committees.
In her first statement as a Congressperson before the U.S. House of Representatives, Shirley made clear her commitment to the needs of children and the disadvantaged, and proclaimed her intent to “vote No on every money bill that comes to the floor of this House that provides any funds for the Department of Defense.”
During her fourteen years in the House, Shirley fought for the rights of women, Native Americans, Haitian refugees, migrant farm workers and the poor. She worked on behalf of Black colleges and took stands on issues including the Vietnam War, compensatory education and minimum wage for domestic workers. Shirley was an early member of the National Organization for Women, a co-founder of the National Women's Political Caucus, and a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Shortly after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, Michigan Congressman John Conyers introduced legislation for a national holiday in King’s honor. When those efforts were stalled in Congress, Shirley joined forces with Conyers to resubmit the measure every legislative session until it passed in 1983.
In 1972, Shirley became the first woman to campaign for the Democratic nomination for President. She shocked the country when she paid a hospital visit to rival candidate George C. Wallace, the Alabama governor who built his political career on
segregation, after he had been wounded in an assassination attempt in 1972. “Black people in my community crucified me,” she recalled. “But why shouldn’t I go to visit him?…He said to me, ‘What are your people going to say?’ I said: ‘I know what
they’re going to say. But I wouldn't want what happened to you to happen to anyone.’ He cried and cried and cried.”
Though Shirley did not win a single primary during the 1972 presidential election, she captured over 150 votes on the first ballot and later said her campaign had been a necessary “catalyst for change.” Shirley went on to serve for ten more years in
the House and retired in 1982 after seven terms in Congress.
Shirley kept active in politics following her retirement by co-founding the National Political Congress of Black Women and serving as its chairwoman from its founding in 1984 until 1992. Shirley also lectured, taught at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, and wrote two books, including her autobiography, Unbought and Unbossed, which was the campaign slogan she used in her first race for Congress.
Shirley married twice, but had no children. Her 1949 marriage to Conrad Chisholm ended in divorce in February, 1977. Later that year she married Arthur Hardwick, Jr., who died in 1986. Shirley moved to Florida in 1991 and died at the age of 80 on January 1, 2005 at her home in Ormond Beach.
Asked how she hoped to be remembered, Shirley once commented, “I’d like them to say that Shirley Chisholm had guts. That’s how I'd like to be remembered.”
Copyright 2005 Anti-Defamation League
NYS Social Studies Framework Alignment for Shirley Chisholm
Grade 4: New York State and Local History and Government
4.4 GOVERNMENT: There are different levels of government within the United States and New York State. The purpose of government is to protect the rights of citizens and to promote the common good. The government of New York State establishes rights, freedoms, and responsibilities for its citizens.
(Standards: 1, 5; Themes: GOV, CIV)
4.5 IN SEARCH OF FREEDOM AND A CALL FOR CHANGE: Different groups of people did not have equal rights and freedoms. People worked to bring about change. The struggle for rights and freedoms was one factor in the division of the United States that resulted in the Civil War.
(Standards: 1, 5; Themes: ID, TCC, SOC, CIV)
Grade 8:: United States and New York State History II
8.9 DOMESTIC POLITICS AND REFORM: The civil rights movement and the Great Society were attempts by people and the government to address major social, legal, economic, and environmental problems. Subsequent economic recession called for a new economic program.
(Standards: 1, 4, 5; Themes: TCC, SOC, CIV, ECO)
Grade 11: United States History and Government (Regents)
11.10 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CHANGE/DOMESTIC ISSUES (1945 – present): Racial, gender, and socioeconomic inequalities were addressed by individuals, groups, and organizations. Varying political philosophies prompted debates over the role of the federal government in regulating the economy and providing a social safety net. (Standards: 1, 4, 5; Themes: ID, TCC, SOC, GOV, CIV, ECO)
Grade 12 Civics/Participation in Government
12.G4 POLITICAL AND CIVIC PARTICIPATION: There are numerous avenues for engagement in the political process, from exercising the power of the vote, to affiliating with political parties, to engaging in other forms of civic participation. Citizens leverage both electoral and non-electoral means to participate in the political process.
12.G5 PUBLIC POLICY: All levels of government—local, state, and federal—are involved in shaping public policy and responding to public policy issues, all of which influence our lives beyond what appears in the Constitution. Engaged citizens understand how to find, monitor, evaluate, and respond to information on public policy issues.
4.4 GOVERNMENT: There are different levels of government within the United States and New York State. The purpose of government is to protect the rights of citizens and to promote the common good. The government of New York State establishes rights, freedoms, and responsibilities for its citizens.
(Standards: 1, 5; Themes: GOV, CIV)
4.5 IN SEARCH OF FREEDOM AND A CALL FOR CHANGE: Different groups of people did not have equal rights and freedoms. People worked to bring about change. The struggle for rights and freedoms was one factor in the division of the United States that resulted in the Civil War.
(Standards: 1, 5; Themes: ID, TCC, SOC, CIV)
Grade 8:: United States and New York State History II
8.9 DOMESTIC POLITICS AND REFORM: The civil rights movement and the Great Society were attempts by people and the government to address major social, legal, economic, and environmental problems. Subsequent economic recession called for a new economic program.
(Standards: 1, 4, 5; Themes: TCC, SOC, CIV, ECO)
- 8.9b The civil rights movement prompted renewed efforts for equality by women and other groups.
- 8.9c The Great Society programs of President Lyndon Johnson strengthened efforts aimed at reducing poverty and providing health care for the elderly, but the Vietnam War drained resources and divided society.
Grade 11: United States History and Government (Regents)
11.10 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CHANGE/DOMESTIC ISSUES (1945 – present): Racial, gender, and socioeconomic inequalities were addressed by individuals, groups, and organizations. Varying political philosophies prompted debates over the role of the federal government in regulating the economy and providing a social safety net. (Standards: 1, 4, 5; Themes: ID, TCC, SOC, GOV, CIV, ECO)
- 11.10a After World War II, long-term demands for equality by African Americans led to the civil rights movement. The efforts of individuals, groups, and institutions helped to redefine African American civil rights, though numerous issues remain unresolved.
- 11.10b Individuals, diverse groups, and organizations have sought to bring about change in American society through a variety of methods.
Grade 12 Civics/Participation in Government
12.G4 POLITICAL AND CIVIC PARTICIPATION: There are numerous avenues for engagement in the political process, from exercising the power of the vote, to affiliating with political parties, to engaging in other forms of civic participation. Citizens leverage both electoral and non-electoral means to participate in the political process.
- 12.G4d The United States and New York have political party systems, and the political parties represent specific political, economic, and social philosophies. Debate over the role and influence of political parties continues, although they play a significant role in United States elections and politics. The role of political parties and the platforms they represent varies between states in the United States.
12.G5 PUBLIC POLICY: All levels of government—local, state, and federal—are involved in shaping public policy and responding to public policy issues, all of which influence our lives beyond what appears in the Constitution. Engaged citizens understand how to find, monitor, evaluate, and respond to information on public policy issues.
- 12.G5b On various issues, certain governmental branches and agencies are responsible for determining policy. Those who create public policies attempt to balance regional and national needs, existing political positions and loyalties, and sources of political power.
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