1924-
Representative From New York

"Fighting Shirley Chisholm."

The first African-American woman ever to sit in the U.S. Congress, "Fighting Shirley Chisholm," as she liked to be called, established herself as a vocal defender of women and the poor. Articulate and energetic, she gained national recognition for her efforts, and in 1972 she launched a failedcampaignfortheDemocraticnominationforpresident.

Life and Background.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, on 30 November 1924, Shirley Anita St. Hill grew up on the farm of her maternal grandmother in Barbados. At age eleven she returned to Brooklyn with her parents and graduated cum laude from Brooklyn College. She went on to earn a master's degree from Columbia University and in 1949 married Conrad Chisholm, a New York City government official. She gained valuable governmental experience as director of New York's child-care centers, and in 1964 she won election to the New York State Assembly. In 1968 she defeated...