She didn't become the first African-American president of the United States, but she demonstrated that anyone—even a black woman, a category that in the racist America of the 1960s represented doubly marginalized—can aspire to the White House. Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm did, however, achieve one prestigious milestone: she was the first black woman in the history of the United States Congress. It was 1968, perhaps the most terrible year for civil rights, marked by the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4 in Memphis, Tennessee; by the riots in 100 American cities; and by protests against the Vietnam War.
The mother of women who today, after the Republicans' rejection of Trump's policies in the midterm elections, have set other firsts: in Georgia, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms is the first African-American elected governor in US history, while in Texas, Democrat Gina Hinojosa is the state's first Hispanic governor. However, Shirley Chisholm didn't like being identified by that flag planted in Congress. "I don't want to go down in history as 'the nation's first black congresswoman' or 'the first black woman congresswoman.' I'd like them to say Shirley Chisholm had guts," she said after her farewell to politics, as the New York Times recalled in its obituary following her death in 2005 in Florida. In short, she didn't become president of the United States, but she showed the way for all those who might aspire to the Oval Office.
Born on November 30, 1924, in Brooklyn, New York, to parents of Caribbean origin—a factory worker father and a seamstress mother—Shirley spent her childhood with her sisters in Barbados, entrusted to the care of her maternal grandmother and aunts. She said this was a crucial experience for her development: she received a rigorous education and developed a strong sense of discipline and independence, so much so that she began reading at age 3 and a half and writing shortly thereafter, a milestone she often cited to emphasize the importance of early schooling for children.
Returning to Brooklyn, she had distinguished herself as a model student since elementary school, but it was during those years that she began to understand the challenges of being an intelligent black girl in a wealthy white school. After graduating high school, in 1946, she earned a degree in sociology from Brooklyn College, and later a master's degree in education from Columbia University. Her chosen career shaped her entire political career: she directed several child care centers, and her daily contact with less well-off families allowed her to gain firsthand knowledge of the difficulties of African-American communities and the most economically vulnerable citizens.
She soon came to believe that education alone was not enough: legislative and institutional changes were also needed. In 1964, Shirley Chisholm was elected to the New York State Assembly. Four years later, she was elected to the United States House of Representatives, becoming the first African-American woman in Congressional history. Her arrival in Washington was not without its challenges: she had arrived in an environment dominated by men, mostly white, and it's easy to imagine the burden of racial prejudice and gender discrimination she faced. It was an added challenge, but she never accepted being relegated to a symbolic role. She focused on improving the living conditions of women and the most disadvantaged segments of the population. She supported the Equal Rights Amendment, legislation to fund school lunches, childcare, student aid, and a guaranteed minimum income for families.
Fighting Shirley, a nickname that aptly describes her, during her seven terms (she remained in Congress until 1982) she sponsored more than 50 bills on gender and racial equality. In 1971, she co-founded the National Women's Political Caucus (an organization whose primary goal is to increase the presence and participation of women in public life and elected office), and in 1977, she was also the first black woman to sit on the House Rules Committee, the commission that determines how each bill is debated (and amended).
On January 25, 1972, in Brooklyn, Shirley Chisholm officially announced her candidacy in the Democratic primary for president of the United States. "I am not the candidate of black America, although I am black and proud of it," she said. "I am not the candidate of the women's movement in this country, although I am a woman and equally proud of it. I am not the candidate of any politician, nor of any bigwig, nor of any special interest. I stand here now, without the endorsement of any prominent politician, celebrity, or other kind of support. I do not propose to offer you the tired and hackneyed clichés that have long been accepted as part and parcel of our political life. I am the candidate of the American people."
Her slogan was destined to become famous: "Unbought and Unbossed." She boasted of independence from major economic interests, but it was an uphill battle, starting with opposition from her party colleagues, a chronic lack of funding, and the difficulty of securing space in televised debates. She even suffered three assassination attempts, for which she was assigned protection. Her platform addressed concrete issues: the fight against poverty, access to education, minority rights, equality between men and women, and the need to reduce U.S. military involvement in Vietnam.
But her candidacy was the real challenge, a double challenge: against the racism that excluded African Americans from the highest levels of institutions and against the sexism that considered the presidency a role reserved for men. Despite the difficulties, she participated in the primaries in twelve states and won 152 delegate votes at the Democratic National Convention. She failed to secure the nomination, which went to George McGovern, but the result was historic. She had blazed a trail. She was a pillar of the United States Congress until 1983, when she abandoned politics to devote herself to teaching. Shirley Chisholm died on January 1, 2005, at the age of 80.
In 2015, President Barack Obama posthumously awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of America's highest civilian honors. "When I ran for Congress, when I ran for president," she once said in an interview, "I encountered more discrimination as a woman than as a black man. Men will be men."