Shirley Chisholm Papers

Shirley Chisholm, born Shirley Anita St. Hill on November 30, 1924 is recognized for being the first African American woman to be elected to Congress, as well as the first African American woman to campaign for the United States presidency.

Chisholm spent her early childhood in Barbados with her siblings and grandmother. While in Barbados, she attended excellent schools, which was the basis of her strong commitment to education. She then returned to New York during her adolescence and attended a local elementary school in Brooklyn. Her family later moved to another area of the borough where Chisholm would finish out elementary and junior high school. A long time resident of Brooklyn, Chisholm finished Girls' High School and then went on to Brooklyn College where she studied sociology and minored in Spanish.

At college, Chisholm and other minority students faced racial discrimination and rejection from white students and their organizations, but, where others saw a closed door, Chisholm saw an opportunity to create a new opening. Chisholm and several classmates started their own alternative social club for minorities, Ipothia, which stands for "in pursuit of the highest in all," which became a trailblazer for the many other minority organizations that would arise at Brooklyn College.(1) In 1946, Chisholm graduated cum laude at the age of twenty-two. She had always known that she wanted to become a teacher, so after her graduation she began teaching at a Brooklyn nursery school and enrolled at Columbia University, where she received her Master's degree in elementary education (1952). During this period, Chisholm was very concerned with the health and well-being of the children in the Brooklyn community, becoming the director of the Friends Day Nursery in Brooklyn.

She met her first husband, Conrad Chisholm, in those years, and became avidly involved in local politics because she felt that the old political machine was doing nothing for her community. In her autobiography, Chisholm mentions the total disregard with which her people were treated, and the need for mobilization, "It was starting to realize that the organization never had and never would pick black candidates even if the area became 99 percent black, so black citizens would have to organize and fight for candidates of their own."(2) Chisholm's first attendance at a 17th Assembly District club meeting was the beginning of an almost thirty five-year involvement with the political concerns of her community.

As part of her involvement with local political organizations, Chisholm helped to form the Bedford-Stuyvesant Political League, and also created the Unity Democratic Club in 1960. After campaigning for several other community leaders, Chisholm decided to run, and in 1964 successfully ran and was elected to the New York State Assembly, representing the district of Brooklyn. During her tenure as Assemblywoman, Chisholm is most proud of two bills she introduced in the legislature. One created a program called SEEK, which made it possible through recruitment and financial support for young men and women from disadvantaged backgrounds to go to college. The other bill set up the state's first unemployment insurance coverage for personal and domestic employees.(3)

In 1968, Chisholm campaigned and won a spot as representative of New York's Twelfth Congressional District, making her the first African-American woman elected to the U.S. Congress. "During her first term in Congress Chisholm hired an all female staff and spoke out for civil rights, women's rights, and the poor and against the Vietnam War. In 1970, she was elected to a second term. She was a sought after speaker and co-founder of the National Organization for Women."(4) Her first committee assignment was on the Agriculture Committee, which was nowhere within the realm of her education or experience; Chisholm sternly appealed her placement until she was assigned to the Veterans Affairs Committee. Throughout her congressional career, she supported the Equal Rights Amendment and legalized abortions. "Congresswoman Chisholm has earned praise for her efforts on behalf of Black colleges, compensatory education, and minimum wage for domestics, American Indians, the Haitian refugees, migrant farm workers, and the poor."(5)

In 1972, Chisholm campaigned unsuccessfully for the United States Presidency, but is now remembered as the first African American woman to run. She notes in her second book, "I ran because someone had to do it first. In this country everybody is supposed to be able to run for President, but that's never been really true. I ran because most people think the country is not ready for a black candidate, not ready for a woman candidate. Someday."(6) Shirley Chisholm is the author of two autobiographical books, Unbought and Unbossed (1970), and The Good Fight (1973), in which she speaks of her run for the presidency.

In 1982, Chisholm did not seek reelection and retired after that term. She remained active in the political arena, speaking and lecturing across the United States. She continued her love of teaching and surrounding herself with the younger community by becoming a professor at Mount Holyoke College from 1983 to 1987. Chisholm and her long time husband of almost forty years divorced in 1977, and she married businessman Arthur Hardwick in 1977.

Over the course of her lifetime, Chisholm has written books and numerous editorial pieces, delivered speeches, and has received several awards, honorary degrees, and titles honoring her contribution to society. She continues to work as a lecturer, teacher and political mentor. "Mrs. Chisholm still hopes for a new national state of mind that demands peace, prosperity and equality for all Americans."(7) Shirley Chisholm spent her final years living in Florida, where she died on January 1, 2005. She was 80 years old.

(1) Chisholm, Shirley. Unbought and Unbossed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1970, p. 26. (2) Ibid, page 32. (3) Ibid, page 61. (4) Page Wise, Inc. http://nhessortment.com/shirleychisholm_ruol.htm. (5) Shirley Chisholm to New York Constituents (early 1980s). Miscellaneous Correspondence series, Robert Frishman subgroup, Shirley Chisholm papers. (6) Chisholm, Shirley. The Good Fight. New York: Harper & Row, 1973, p. 3. (7) Shirley Chisholm to New York Constituents (early 1980s). Miscellaneous Correspondence series, Robert Frishman subgroup, Shirley Chisholm papers.