On this historic month we honor Shirley Chisholm!
Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm was born in Brooklyn, New York to Barbadian parents on November 30th, 1924. Chisholm spent part of her childhood in Barbados with her grandmother. She graduated from Brooklyn College in 1946 and earned a master’s degree in elementary education from Columbia University. Chisholm was the director of the Hamilton-Madison Child Care Center from 1953 to 1959. She went on to become an educational consultant for New York City’s Bureau of Child Welfare from 1959 to 1964.
In 1968 Shirley Chisholm became the first African-American woman in Congress in which she served seven terms. She was one of the founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus in 1971. In a remarkable and historical move Shirley Chisholm become the first African American woman to run for the highest office in the United States of America in 1972.Her platform was giving a voice to the people who were often ignored. She believed in equality and justice for all. Unfortunately she did not win the election but she left a lasting image on the minds of many individuals. She paved the way for the likes of Barack Obama, the first African-American to become president and for Hillary Clinton who was on the footsteps of the oval.
After leaving Congress she went back to her roots and taught at Mount Holyoke College in 1983. Chisholm also found time to write two books Unbought and Unbossed and The Good Fight. On New Years Day 2005 Chisholm died at the age of 80, in Ormond Beach, Florida. On November 2015, she was awarded the distinguished Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Shirley Chisholm truly was a catalyst for change and a beacon of hope for future generations to come!