Celebrating Black History Month  Shirley Chisholm (1924 — 2005) In 1968, Shirley Chisholm became the fi rst black woman elected to the U. S. House of Representatives. For her, that was just one victory in a lifelong struggle for racial and gender equality. Chisholm’s parents were immigrants from Barbados. She was born Shirley Anita St. Hill in Brooklyn on November 30, 1924. When she was three, her parents sent Shirley and her siblings to her grandmother’s home in Barbados until they could earn enough money to raise their children in America. In Barbados, Shirley received a strict British- style education in a one-room schoolhouse where seven classes met at once. Shirley was a quick learner, but when her parents fi nally brought her home, she was set back three grades because she hadn’t been taught American history or geography. With a tutor’s help she caught up in less than two years. After graduating from Girls’ High School, Shirley turned down a scholarship at Vassar, a prestigious women’s college, because she couldn’t aff ord the housing costs. At Brooklyn College, Library of Congress, Prints and she won prizes for debating, joined the Harriet Photographs Division [reproduction number, LC-U9-25383-33] Tubman Society for black students, and campaigned unsuccessfully to elect women to the student council. Shirley took graduate classes at Columbia, and married fellow student Conrad Chisholm, while working as a teacher and administrator. Her concern for children’s and working people’s needs led her to become active in local politics. In her neighborhood, the 17th Assembly District, blacks were a majority, but whites dominated the Democratic Party. Chisholm became a dedicated fundraiser for the Democratic Club, but grew convinced that party leaders were more interested in keeping power than in helping the community. In 1953, Chisholm joined other black Democrats in challenging the leadership’s white candidate for judge. Their success led to the formation of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Political League. Despite Chisholm’s hard work for the League, her male colleagues were reluctant to accept a female leader, and fi nally forced her out. In 1960, Chisholm helped form the Unity Democratic Club in the 17th District. In 1962, their candidate won an Assembly seat. When he became a judge two years later, Chisholm fi nally got a chance to run for offi ce, and won the open seat easily. In Albany, Chisholm’s legislation made college more accessible to poor New Yorkers, expanded unemployment coverage, and ended discrimination against pregnant teachers. Despite her successes, Chisholm believed that changes were necessary at the national level to improve her community. In 1968, Chisholm campaigned to represent the 12th Congressional District, where women voters outnumbered males by a large margin. Despite surgery for a benign tumor, she defeated black rivals in the Democratic primary before beating the Republican candidate, a prominent civil rights leader, by more than 20,000 votes. She prevailed because voters trusted her to remain independent of party bosses and put community interests fi rst. During fourteen years in Congress, and as a Presidential candidate in 1972, Shirley Chisholm continued to defy the establishment. When she died on January 1, 2005, she was remembered for breaking down barriers, and as a role model for challenging any barrier to American achievement.

For more information about Shirley Chisholm go to the History, Art & Archives website of the US House of Representatives at http://history.house.gov/People/Detail/10918. This is one of a series of four Celebrating Black History Month profi les, written by Kevin Gilbert for the NYNPA - Newspaper In Education Program. All rights reserved 2018.