On Jan. 25, 1972, Shirley Chisholm in Brooklyn , New York formally announced her decision to run for the U.S. Presidency. Chisholm became the first woman and the first African-American to seek the nomination of the Democratic Party. As she declared , “I stand here now without endorsements from many big name politicians or celebrities or any other kind of prop. I do not intend to offer to you the tired and glib clichés, which for too long have been an accepted part of our political life. I am the candidate of the people of America. And my presence before you now symbolizes a new era in American political history. “