USPS EDUCATION KIT 1

Shaping A Catalyst

Shirley Anita St. Hill was born in Brooklyn New York in 1924, at a

time when most black Americans were either barred from, or had abandoned, electoral politics. In the first three decades of the 20th century, not one African American represented the people of the United States in Congress, despite an African American population of more than 11 million people. Shirley’s place in history certainly defies the tenor of the times of her birth.

Shirley’s father, Joseph, and mother, Ruby, were Caribbean immigrants who settled in Brooklyn in New York City. As black newcomers to an overcrowded city, Shirley’s parents struggled to support their young family. When blacks from the South moved north to escape racial discrimination, the city became more crowded and jobs more scarce. Shirley’s parents decided that their daughters would be best served living with their grandmother in Barbados while they worked to make enough money to afford a home for their family.

Shirley and her sisters thrived in Barbados, where they lived from 1927 to 1934. She attended grade school for eight hours a day, where

discipline was harsh and lessons challenging. She credits the education she received in Barbados with the strong written and verbal communication skills that served her well in her political career.

Shirley returned to Brooklyn in 1934 during the peak of the Great Depression. This was a time of financial calamity that affected every group of Americans, but African Americans were hit the hardest. By 1932, roughly 50% of African Americans were out of work. Hope returned in 1933 when President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal policies brought tangible economic benefits to blacks. The St. Hill’s financial situation gradually improved and soon after she

graduated from Girl’s High School, Shirley’s father was able to purchase the home he had long wanted for his family.

Shirley attended the prestigious and academically challenging Brooklyn College. She participated in campus and community groups, including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Debate Society and the Urban League, all of which helped to prepare her for her future political career. After graduating cum laude from Brooklyn College in 1946, Shirley accepted a teaching position in a nursery school and pursued her Masters Degree in Early Childhood Education at Columbia University.

“I am and

always will be

a catalyst for

change.”

Being black in America just 80 years ago meant discrimination in

almost every aspect of life.

FDR’s New Deal measures introduced

a change to the political and social climate that allowed blacks to imagine what a

better future might look like.

A champion of civil rights and women’s rights, Shirley Chisholm is best

known for being the first black woman to serve in the US Congress.

She represented the 12th congressional district of New York from 1969 to

1983 as an impassioned advocate for social justice and equality. Chisholm

made history again in 1972 when she became the first black woman to run for

president of the United States. She dared to challenge convention and blazed

trails for others to follow, proving herself to be a true Catalyst for Change.

CU

NY

Brooklyn C

ollege

2USPS EDUCATION KIT

The Political Educator

Newly married to Conrad Chisholm in 1949, Shirley began a decade

of work in Early Childhood Education. She earned a reputation as an authority on child welfare. In 1959 she was

appointed to the New York City Department of Child Welfare, where she served until 1964.

In addition to her work, Shirley was active in local politics and community concerns. She was part of a democratic reform effort that was spreading across the city and state of New York. For decades, city and state governments were controlled by white American democrats who showed little concern for some of the communities they governed. Local party bosses were corrupt but powerful, putting in place legislators who would ensure they kept their jobs. By 1960, the people had enough of the cronyism and reform was on its way.

Shirley and five colleagues founded their own democratic reform organization, the Unity Democratic Club. Their express purpose was the ouster of the entrenched white political machine. Their platform called for improved education, better lighting and sanitation for their Bedford-Stuyvesant community, political integration with better representation for blacks and Puerto Ricans in the State Assembly in Albany and an end to “Boss-ruled plantation politics”.

The Unity club mobilized voter registration campaigns and solicited high profile endorsements from singer Harry Belafonte and Eleanor Roosevelt. They canvassed neighborhoods to ensure voters made their way to the polls. Their efforts were rewarded in 1962 when African American Tom Jones was elected State Assemblyman for New York’s 17th District. The victory furthered Shirley’s reputation as a leader and a motivator.

When the Assembly seat for the 17th District opened up in 1964, the

Unity club nominated Shirley to fill it. She focused her campaign message on serving African American women and the poor, and on improving education. She easily won the Democratic primary, and in November 1964, defeated her Republican opponent by a large margin. Shirley Chisholm became the first black woman to sit on the New York State Assembly.

During her time on the State Assembly, Shirley was true to her campaign promises. She spurred the creation of the Search for Education, Elevation and Knowledge program (SEEK), which created scholarships for minority students. She sponsored bills that helped domestic workers get unemployment insurance, protected the tenure of teachers who took maternity leave and provided state aid to daycare centers. She stayed abreast of her constituents by returning to Bedford-Stuyvesant from Albany for three days every week. She would meet with community members at Unity headquarters where she would listen to their concerns. She was twice re-elected and was respected as a caring and capable legislator.

Chisholm speaking before New York State Assembly

New York state and local politics were dominated by

corrupt politicians who paid to stay in power.

Democratic Party Reform groups

put in place a new government from the bottom up, where the

people – not party bosses – chose their

representatives.

The Harlem

Project, State U

niversity at Albany

The Harlem

Project, State U

niversity at Albany

USPS EDUCATION KIT 3

Carving a Niche

The first African American woman to serve the New York State

Legislature was ready for her next challenge and oddly enough, a rock ‘n roll radio station helped her find it!

Shirley’s neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant had one of the largest concentrations of African and Caribbean Americans in the state, but they had little-to-no voice in their government. The Bed-Stuy denizens were victims of “gerrymandering” – a practice of dividing a state into voting districts that give a distinct electoral advantage to one group over another, in this case, whites over blacks.

The New York state legislature (like most state governments) is responsible for dividing the state into congressional districts – compact and connective geographic territories are roughly equal in population. Each congressional district elects its own member to serve in the House of Representatives in Congress. If artificial lines are drawn that divide a natural geographic area into multiple districts, the people of that area are denied a united voice that represents their common interests.

Brooklyn had been outrageously gerrymandered. The population in the geographically contained area of Bedford-Stuyvesant where Shirley lived in 1964 was overwhelmingly black. However, the community was artificially divided among five congressional districts, all of which were represented by white men. The voice of black Brooklyn had no hope to be heard this way.

In 1961, Brooklyn rock ’n roll radio station WMCA filed suit against the state of New York, claiming the district divisions denied citizens of certain districts a fair voice in government. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favor of the radio station. State officials redrew district lines in 1964, carving a new

congressional district in Brooklyn that included all of Bedford-Stuyvesant. At last, Brooklyn’s black and Hispanic population would have a voice in Washington. It was time for them to choose the person who would best represent their needs and interests in the US House of Representatives.

State and county officials pledged no interference in the “New Black 12th Congressional District”, leaving the choice of nominees up to the people. A citizens committee was organized to interview the interested candidates. After all interviews were complete, the citizen’s committee endorsed Shirley, due to her willingness to speak out and speak her will – unbought and unbossed.

State drawn congressional district lines had carved Brooklyn up into

five little pieces, each attached to another district, each

represented by a white man.

Court mandated redistricting created

a new and unified district for Brooklyn, allowing the people to choose representatives

from within their community.

Roger H

iggins, World Telegram

& S

un

USPS EDUCATION KIT 4

And She’s Off

Shirley Chisholm threw her hat into the ring as a Democratic candidate

for the US House of Representatives seat from the new 12th congressional district of New York. She carried out her campaign with the “spirit and spunk” that she attributes to her upbringing in Barbados.

Shirley took to the streets, parking lots, neighborhood homes and the housing projects of the 12th district. She would drive around in a sound truck with her slogan Unbought and Unbossed on the sides, announcing, “Ladies and Gentlemen, this is fighting Shirley Chisholm coming through.” Her campaign style was personal and emotional; “You have to let them feel you.” She defeated her three opponents – all of them African American - in the primary election and became the Democratic candidate for the 12th congressional district’s seat in the House of Representatives.

Shirley’s Republican opponent in the general election was a daunting figure. Republican James Farmer was a storied civil rights leader, a founder of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), orchestrator of the Freedom Rides and an organizer of the 1963 March for Jobs and Freedom in Washington. Farmer and Shirley had common platforms; they both sought equal opportunity in housing, education and employment, and both opposed the war in Viet Nam.

The area that set the candidates apart was gender. Shirley continued her appeal to women voters. Farmer on the other hand, did the opposite. He argued that women “have been in the driver’s seat” in black communities

for too long. His campaign called for “a strong male image” and “a man’s voice in Washington – not a little schoolteacher’s” – not the best approach in a district where women voters outnumbered men by the thousands. Shirley’s message was that she truly represented the people and not any special interest; she was “unbought and unbossed”. She used Farmer’s words against him. “There

were Negro men in office before I came in five years ago, but they didn’t deliver. People came and asked me to do something, I’m here because of the vacuum.” In her impassioned speeches Shirley showed herself to be a smart and outspoken advocate for the people of Brooklyn and her fluency in Spanish allowed her to reach out to the growing Hispanic population.

November 5, 1968, Election Day, proved to be historic as Brooklyn elected the first African American woman to the US Congress. Shirley Chisholm beat James Farmer with 34,885 votes to his 13,777. Speaking to her supporters she promised, “I know that as a freshman in Congress I’m supposed to be seen and not heard. But my voice will be heard. I have no intention of being quiet.”

When it came to underrepresentation in state

and local government, women, especially black women,

suffered the most.

The silent majority in Bedford-Stuyvesant finally spoke up and put a black woman in the State Assembly who fought for their

interests.

Shirley Chisholm by campaign workers after winning election to Congress on Nov. 6, 1968.

Associated Press

USPS EDUCATION KIT 5

The House that Wasn’t a Home

The years 1968 to 1972 are considered by many to be the

most tumultuous time in 20th century American history outside of the Depression and the two World Wars. Race riots roared in the streets, the Viet Nam War was escalating, an economic recession prevailed and crime was on the uptick. The White House and Congress were consistently at odds and young people across the country were protesting US government actions at home and abroad. It was a challenging time for all legislators in Congress, especially for a freshman congressman who was both black and a woman.

Shirley’s welcome was not a very warm one by many of her fellow lawmakers. They were uncomfortable with her independence and outspokenness. Freshman congressmen were supposed to be quiet and cooperative. But Shirley bristled at what she believed to be old fashioned and unproductive practices. Committee assignments were madebased upon seniority, with the choicest assignments going to the longest-serving members. As an educator from one of the poorest districts in the country, Shirley hoped to be placed on the Education and Labor Committee. When she learned she was being assigned to the Agricultural Committee she called the Speaker of the House and explained that agriculture was hardly relevant to her district constituents. The Speaker advised her to be a good soldier and go along with her assignment. But she refused, demanded to be heard on the House floor, and was reassigned to a more relevant and appropriate committee.

Shirley proved to be an eloquent speaker, passionate advocate for women and minorities, and a vocal opponent of the war in Viet Nam. Her maiden speech on the House floor in March of 1969 was a loud denunciation of the war in which she pledged to vote against every single piece of legislation that allocated any funds to defense. Another moment of

great eloquence for Shirley was her May 1969 speech for the Equal Rights Amendment, a bill to guarantee women equal rights under law.

Shirley earned her place on the Education and Labor Committee in 1971. She lobbied tenaciously for her causes, defended federal assistance for education, sponsored increases in federal funding for daycare, and was primary sponsor of a national school lunch bill, which was passed by both houses of Congress, but was vetoed by President Ford. In 1977 Shirley was assigned to the powerful House Rules Committee, the most powerful and longest standing committee in the House.

Arcane Congressional procedures for committee assignments

are based on member seniority and not member expertise.

Unproductive protocol is challenged for the first

time, resulting in a change in committee assignment and better representation for district constituents.

Charles G

orry, Associated Press

USPS EDUCATION KIT 6

It’s the Running, Not the Winning

In January of 1972, Shirley Chisholm stepped onto a stage previously

reserved for white men only and declared her candidacy for the democratic presidential nomination. This unprecedented act shook up electoral politics and challenged the public’s perception of what a presidential candidate looked like. CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite announced “A new hat – rather a bonnet – was tossed into the presidential race today.” His “bonnet” metaphor was an allusion to the fact that Chisholm was a woman.

The early 1970’s were a turbulent time for women in America. Shirley always acknowledged that she faced more discrimination as a woman than as a black. A TIME Magazine article in March of that year, related polling results that showed voters would be more reluctant to vote for a president if his number two spot included a woman than if it included a black. And although racial prejudice was beginning to recede in America, it still had a long way to go.

Shirley knew that she had no hope of winning the presidential race, but she ran because the tenor of the times was right for it. Passage of the 26th Amendment to the Constitution brought the voting age to 18 from 21, admitting 11 million new voters to the polls. Passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 gave greater voice to minority voters. And the escalating power of the women’s movement held promise for future female political leadership. Shirley hoped to gain support from women, minorities, the poor and the young – all groups she believed were marginalized by their government.

Shirley campaigned tirelessly, claiming that she best represented the interests of blacks, women and the poor. In a primary campaign of 13 candidates, she was mostly overlooked by the competition and the media. When not invited to a televised debate among democratic candidates, she filed a complaint with the FCC. She relied on her novelty and intensity to attract attention and support. She managed to get her name on 12 state primary ballots, and received 152 delegate votes at the 1972 Democratic National Convention.

Although Shirley did not win the democratic nomination, she won in every way she wanted to win. She struck a populist progressive chord with many Americans. She changed the face and the future of politics, and paved the way for people like Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama to reach the highest office in the land. She did it, as she says, because someone had to do it first.

The office of president of the United States appeared reserved for white men only, overlooking

the intelligence and ingenuity of a majority of the American people.

The first African American to run as a major party candidate for president changed the public’s perception of what a president can look like.

In her announcement speech at Unity Church in Brooklyn, Shirley said:

“I am not the candidate of black America, although I am black and proud. I am not the candidate of the women’s movement of this country, although I am a woman, and I am equally proud of that. I am not the candidate of any political bosses or fat cats or special interests.”

Bill C

haples, AP

Images

USPS EDUCATION KIT 7

Catalyst for Collaboration

Shirley Chisholm possessed a special talent for forging partnerships

among unrelated individuals who share a common concern. Her penchant for such partnerships was likely influenced by her father’s belief in the power of workers’ unions and the concept of collective bargaining.

Shirley’s Brooklyn neighborhood was underrepresented in the State Assembly, and thus underserved. Shirley and a handful of others joined together and formed the Unity Democratic Club with the goal of replacing an unresponsive government with one that represented its community members.

Arriving in the House of Representatives, Shirley found herself to be one of only nine black representatives. They recognized that they could be a more effective force for all African Americans – not just their individual constituencies – if they joined together. The Congressional Black Caucus was born in the 91st Congress in 1969. It quickly became an influential and nonpartisan voice for justice.

Throughout her career, Shirley recognized a scarcity of women – particularly black women – in positions of leadership in politics, education and private industry. To help fill this vacuum, Shirley founded the National Congress of Black Women. She served as the first Chair of the organization that is dedicated to advocacy, networking and consciousness-raising for women and minority women.

The 1960s witnessed social revolution in many arenas, not just Civil Rights. Women had long been marginalized in society, falling behind men in earnings, in positions of leadership, in educational opportunities, in jobs. Shirley Chisholm

was a vocal advocate of women’s rights, saying, “Of my two handicaps, being female put more obstacles in my path than being black.” She collaborated with fellow women’s rights advocates and founded the New York chapter of NOW (National Women’s Organization).

As minorities and women fought for equal rights, they were ignored,

overlooked and sidelined.

When many voices were raised as one, social movements were born that could affect change in

America.

Top photo: Founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Standing L-R: Parren Mitchell, Charles Rangel, Bill Clay, Ron Dellums, George W. Collins, Louis Stokes, Ralph Metcalfe, John Conyers, and Walter Fauntroy. Seated L-R: Robert N.C. Nix, Sr., Charles Diggs, Shirley Chisholm, and Augustus F. Hawkins. Bottom photo: A 1972 meeting of the National Women’s Political Caucus. Left to Right: C. DeLores Tucker, Gloria Steinem, Bella Abzug, Shirley Chisholm (speaking), Gracia Molina de Pick, Betty Friedan and LaDonna Harris.

© B

ettye LaneC

hisholm Project, C

UN

Y B

rooklyn College

USPS EDUCATION KIT 8

Legacy

Shirley’s leadership in the House was evident in her ability to

convene combative personalities to create alliances for a higher purpose, co-founding the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Women’s Caucus. Outside of her legislative work, Shirley co-founded the New York chapter of the National Organization of Women in 1966 and was the founding chair of the National Congress of Black Women.

Throughout her 14-year tenure in Congress, Shirley remained true to her constituents and herself. She sponsored legislation to protect the land rights of Native Americans, to enforce fair housing laws, to increase funding for food stamps, to extend child nutrition programs, to provide federal support to prevent domestic abuse, to increase parental involvement in primary and secondary education, to eradicate the military draft and to extend the deadline for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.

Shirley’s retirement from Congress in 1983 allowed her to resume teaching, lecturing on politics and women’s studies at Mount Holyoke College and at Spelman College. She is the author of two books, Unbought and Unbossed and The Good Fight. She received an Honorary Doctorate of Law degree from Smith College, was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame and was listed

on scholar and author Molefi Kete Asante’s list of 100 Greatest African Americans.

Shirley died in 2005, just three years shy of the historic democratic

presidential campaign where a

woman narrowly lost the democratic nomination

to a man who would go on to become the first black president of the United States. Shirley Chisholm paved the way for this tremendous event in America’s history. She was indeed what she wanted to be remembered as - a catalyst for change.

Charlie N

eibergall, Associated Press

Mount H

olyoke College Journal