Shirley Chisholm
Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm (November 30, 1924 - January 1, 2005) was an American politician, educator and author. She was a Congresswoman representing New York's 12th District from 1969-1983. In 1968, she became the first African-American woman elected to Congress. In 1972, she became the first African-American and the first woman to make a serious bid to be President of the United States.
Related Topics:
November 30 - 1924 - January 1 - 2005 - American - Congresswoman - 1969 - 1983 - 1968 - African-American - 1972 - President of the United States
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Born in Brooklyn, New York as Shirley St. Hill, she spent part of her childhood in Barbados with her grandmother, benefiting from the British school system. She later attended Brooklyn College and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1949. While working as a teacher, Chisholm earned a Master's degree in elementary education from Columbia University. From 1953-1959, she was director of the Hamilton-Madison Child Care Center, and from 1959-1964 was an educational consultant for the Division of Day Care.
Related Topics:
Brooklyn - New York - Brooklyn College - 1949 - Columbia University - 1953 - 1959 - Hamilton-Madison Child Care Center - 1964
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In 1964, Chisholm ran and was elected to the New York State Legislature. She then ran as the Democratic candidate for New York's 12th District congressional seat and was elected to the House of Representatives in 1968. She defeated Republican candidate James Farmer, to become the first African-American woman elected to Congress.
Related Topics:
New York State Legislature - Democratic - House of Representatives - Republican - James Farmer
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As a freshman, Chisholm was assigned to the House Forestry Committee. Given her district, she felt the placement was a waste of time and shocked many by demanding reassignment. She was placed on the Veterans' Affairs Committee. Soon after, she voted for Hale Boggs as Majority Leader over John Conyers, even though Boggs was white. As a reward for her support, Boggs assigned her to the much-prized Education and Labor Committee; she was the third-highest ranking member when she retired.
Related Topics:
Hale Boggs - John Conyers
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Chisholm joined the Congressional Black Caucus in 1969 as one of its founding members. In 1972, Chisholm made a bid for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, and received 152 delegate votes, but ultimately lost the nomination to South Dakota Senator George McGovern. Chisholm's base of support was ethnically diverse and included the National Organization for Women. Among the volunteers who were inspired by her campaign was Barbara Lee, who would go on to become a congresswoman some 25 years later. Chisholm said she ran for the office "in spite of hopeless odds," "to demonstrate the sheer will and refusal to accept the status quo."
Related Topics:
Congressional Black Caucus - 1969 - 1972 - South Dakota - Senator - George McGovern - National Organization for Women - Barbara Lee
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Chisholm created controversy when she visited rival and ideological opposite George Wallace in the hospital soon after his shooting during that campaign. Several years later, when Chisholm worked on a bill to give domestic workers the right to a minimum wage, Wallace got her the votes of enough southern congressmen to push the legislation through the House. Throughout her tenure in Congress, Chisholm would work to improve opportunities for inner-city residents. She was a vocal opponent of the draft and supported spending increases for education, healthcare and other social services, and reductions in military spending. She announced her retirement from Congress in 1982, and was replaced by a fellow Democrat in 1983. After leaving Congress, Chisholm was named to the Purington Chair at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, where she taught for four years. She was also very popular on the lecture circuit.
Related Topics:
George Wallace - Inner-city - Draft - 1982 - Mount Holyoke College - South Hadley, Massachusetts
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Chisholm was married to Conrad Chisholm from 1949-1977. Upon their divorce, she married Arthur Hardwick, Jr., who died in 1986.
Related Topics:
1949 - 1977 - 1986
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Shirley Chisholm was a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. In 1993, she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. Chisholm also authored two books, Unbought and Unbossed (1970) and The Good Fight (1973).
Related Topics:
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated - 1993 - National Women's Hall of Fame - 1970 - 1973
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Chisholm retired to Florida and passed away on January 1, 2005. In February 2005, Shirley Chisholm '72: Unbought and Unbossed, a documentary film chronicling Chisholm's 1972 bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, was aired on U.S. public television. Directed and produced by independent, black woman filmmaker Shola Lynch, the film was featured at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004.
Related Topics:
January 1 - 2005 - February 2005 - Documentary film - Public television - Shola Lynch - Sundance Film Festival - 2004
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Mark Belling called Gloria Steinem a "grizzled old bag," "old witch"
On the September 4 broadcast of The Mark Belling Late Afternoon Show, radio host Mark Belling called author, activist, and Ms. magazine co-founder Gloria Steinem a "grizzled old bag," and an "old witch." Belling made these remarks while discussing Steinem's September 4 Los Angeles Times op-ed, in which she criticized Sen. John McCain's choice of Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate. Belling also asserted: "She [Steinem] was the cutting edge feminism. Feminists prior to her were the old bags, the previous generation prior to the [The Feminine Mystique author] Betty Friedans of the world, the women that were so ugly you couldn't stand to look at them. Here came Gloria Steinem wearing the mini skirts and dating the famous people and being the glamorous representation of what American feminism is. Well now Gloria Steinem is just nothing more than a 74-year-old, embittered, old has-been sitting out in Los Angeles." Belling's show is carried on News/Talk 1130 WISN-AM in Milwaukee, owned by Clear Channel Communications. Talkers magazine includes Belling in its "Heavy Hundred" list, which it describes as a list of the "100 most important radio talk show hosts in America." From September 4 broadcast of WISN's The Mark Belling Late Afternoon Show: BELLING: Guess who's weighing in on Sarah Palin. I couldn't be happier -- Gloria Steinem, grizzled old bag that she is. There was one point where Gloria Steinem was the future of the feminist movement in America. She created Ms. magazine, she invented it. She was the cutting edge feminism. Feminists prior to her were the old bags, the previous generation prior to the Betty Friedans of the world, the women that were so ugly you couldn't stand to look at them. Here came Gloria Steinem wearing the miniskirts and dating the famous people and being the glamorous representation of what American feminism is. Well, now Gloria Steinem is just nothing more than a 74-year-old, embittered, old has-been sitting out in Los Angeles. She watched Sarah Palin on TV and she's beside herself. Here's what the old witch has to write. Op-ed today's Los Angeles Times: "Here's the good news. Women have become so politically powerful that even the anti-feminist right wing, the folks with a headlock on the Republican Party, are trying to appease the gender gap with a first ever female vice president. We owe this to women and many men too who have picketed, gone on hunger strikes, or confronted violence at the polls so women can vote." OK, that's why this happened, because of the hunger strikes so women could vote. "We owe it to [former Rep.] Shirley Chisholm [D-NY], who first took the 'white-male-only' sign off the White House, and to Hillary Rodham Clinton, who hung in there through ridicule and misogyny to win 18 million votes. "But here is even better news. It won't work. This isn't the first time a boss has picked an unqualified woman just because she agrees with him and opposes everything most other women want and need."
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