• Shirley Chisholm

    Shirley Chisholm was the first black woman to run for congressmen.

    Shirley Chisholm was born on November 30, 1924 in Brooklyn, New York.

    She graduated in 1942.

    In 1949, she married Conrad Chisholm.

    Her campaign slogan was "Fighting Shirley Chisholm--Unbought and Unbossed."

    She won the election and became the first African American woman elected to Congress.

    Shirley Chisholm campaigned to represent New York's Twelfth Congressional District.

    She spoke out for civil rights, women's rights, the poor and against the Vietnam War.

    In 1970, she was elected to a second term.



    On January 25, 1972, Chisholm announced her candidacy for president. She stood before the cameras and in the beginning of her speech she said,

    "I stand before you today as a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the Presidency of the United States. 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 I am equally proud of that. I am not the candidate of any political bosses or special interests. I am the candidate of the people."

    She continued to serve in the House of Representatives until 1982.

    Shirley Chisholm passed away on January 1, 2005.

    She was 80 when she died.