Shirley Chisholm Biography (1924–2005)
Shirley Chisholm became the first African American congresswoman in 1968. Four years later, she became the first major-party Black candidate to make a bid for the U.S. presidency.
Who Was Shirley Chisholm?
Shirley Chisholm is best known for becoming the first Black congresswoman (1968), representing New York State in the U.S. House of Representatives for seven terms. She went on to run for the 1972 Democratic nomination for the presidency—becoming the first major-party African-American candidate to do so. Throughout her political career, Chisholm fought for education opportunities and social justice. Chisholm left Congress in 1983 to teach. She died in Florida in 2005.
Early Years and Career
Chisholm was born Shirley Anita St. Hill on November 30, 1924, in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. Chisholm spent part of her childhood in Barbados with her grandmother. After graduating from Brooklyn College in 1946, she began her career as a teacher and went on to earn a master's degree in elementary education from Columbia University.
Chisholm served as director of the Hamilton-Madison Child Care Center from 1953 to 1959, and as an educational consultant for New York City's Bureau of Child Welfare from 1959 to 1964.
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