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Shirley Chisholm Biography
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Biography: Life of Shirley Chisholm
Born 1924, Died 2005
Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to Congress, was born Shirley Anita St. Hill on November 30, 1924 in Brooklyn, New York to immigrant parents.
In 1946 Chisholm received her B.A. degree from Brooklyn College. Unable to find a job suitable to her education, she took a position as a nursery school teacher. At the same time, she studied elementary education at Colombia University, receiving her M.A. in 1952.
In 1949 she married Conrad Chisholm. The couple divorced in 1977.
Shirley Chisholm worked in the day care field from 1953 to 1959. She then accepted a position as an educational consultant to the Division of Day Care for New York City. She held this position until 1964.
Having been active in community and political groups, in 1964 Shirley Chisholm ran for and was elected to an assembly seat in the New York State Legislature. She served as an assemblywoman until 1968.
When she finished her term in the legislature in 1968, Shirley Chisholm was elected to the United States House of Representatives. She became the first African-American woman elected to Congress. Chisholm was elected to six succeeding terms, serving in Congress from 1969 to 1983.
In 1972 Shirley Chisholm ran for the Democratic nomination for president. She received 151 delegate votes before withdrawing her nomination.
Chisholm, a riveting speaker, worked for civil and women’s rights and the rights of the poor while serving in Congress. She was against the Vietnam War and weapons development.
Shirley Chisholm also authored two autobiographical works, Unbought and Unbossed in 1970 and The Good Fight in 1973.
Shirley Chisholm retired from politics in 1983. Following her retirement, she worked as a lecturer and university professor.
Shirley Chisholm died on January 1, 2005 in Ormond Beach, Florida.
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