Who Was Shirley Chisholm?

Who Was Shirley Chisholm?

Read all about about the first Black woman to be elected to Congress in this empowering addition to the Who Was? series. Shirley Chisholm showed interest in politics early on, majoring in sociology at Brooklyn College in New York City. During this time she was awarded for her debate skills, became a champion for inclusion in the Harriet Tubman society, and graduated cum laude. She dedicated much of her career to fighting for the rights of Black people and women, eventually becoming the first Black woman elected to Congress in 1968. Remarkably, Shirley represented New York's 12th district, including the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, from 1969 to 1983. She fought for the rights of the people, becoming a founding member for the National Women’s Political Caucus and advocating for the Equal Rights Amendment. Learn all about Shirley’s life, from her early activism to her presidential candidacy and her lasting political legacy, in this illustrated biography. Crystal Hubbard has penned picture books, contemporary and historical romance novels, and short stories. She is the author of Who Is LeBron James? and Who Was John Lewis? from the Who HQ series. Who Was Shirley Chisholm? On January 25, 1972, US Representative Shirley Chisholm stood at the front of the auditorium in the Concord Baptist Church of Christ in Brooklyn, New York. Reporters with their notepads and photographers with blinding flashes on their cameras waited for the tiny forty-seven-year-old woman in front of them to speak. Shirley smiled broadly, leaned into the row of microphones before her, and announced that she would run for the presidency of the United States. She was the first Black woman to ever seek the nomination for president. Shirley had already made history in 1968 when she became the first Black woman elected to the United States Congress. She knew that the road to the Democratic nomination for president would be difficult, but she had never been afraid of hard work or a challenge. “I am not the candidate of Black America, although I am Black and proud,” Shirley declared. “I am not the candidate of the women’s movement of this country, although I am a woman, and I’m equally proud of that. . . . I am the candidate of the people of America!” Shirley nodded and waved as the audience applauded for her and cheered. Shirley became a politician so that she could fight for better lives for ordinary people. She had the support of the people in the church auditorium that day, but Shirley was realistic. She knew the battle for the presidency would be the toughest fight of her life.   Chapter 1 A Taste of Barbados    Shirley Anita St. Hill (pronounced “Saint Hill”) was born on November 30, 1924, in Brooklyn, New York. Her parents, Ruby Seale St. Hill and Charles Christopher St. Hill, were from Barbados. They lived in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn. Ruby worked as a seamstress and also took jobs as a maid. Charles worked at a bakery. Her parents made very little money, but Shirley and her sisters were happy. She especially liked having lots of children to play with in the neighborhood, although she liked to give orders and expected them to be obeyed. “Mother always said that even when I was three, I used to get the six- and seven-year-old kids on the block and punch them and say, ‘Listen to me,’ ” Shirley said. In 1928, Ruby and Charles made the decision to take Shirley and her little sisters, Odessa and Muriel, to Barbados. The three girls would live with Ruby’s mother, Emmeline Seale, on the beautiful Caribbean island while Ruby and Charles worked and saved money to provide a better life for them. Ruby, Shirley, Odessa, and Muriel spent nine days on a ship traveling to Christ Church, Barbados. Deep in the countryside of the island, they arrived at Ruby’s mother’s farm. Grandma Emmeline was waiting to greet them. Shirley discovered island life was very different from life in Brooklyn. The sounds of the animals on the farm replaced the noise of cars and traffic. The heat on the farm could be oppressive, but swimming in the ocean brought the girls relief. Shirley was most surprised by Grandma Emmeline’s outhouse. The outhouse was an outdoor enclosure with a bench seat inside. The bench had two holes with a deep pit beneath it.The outhouse was an outdoor toilet. It was very different from the indoor bathroom Shirley knew at home in Brooklyn! School on the island was different, too. Because Barbados had been colonized (controlled) by England, children there were taught in the British style of education. Dozens of students between four and eleven-years old were taught at the Vauxhall Primary School, a one-room building. Students wore simple uniforms: short-sleeve shirts with jumpers for girls and shorts for boys. Students were expected to follow strict rules. A student could be whipped as punishment for bad behavior. Shirley learned to work hard at school and on the farm. She fed and watered chickens and co