Today in History: Shirley Chisholm Is Born

The first black woman elected to the United States Congress in 1968, Shirley Chisholm (née St Hill) was born in Brooklyn, New York on November 30th, 1924, and spent her early years in Barbados. An alumna of Broooklyn College, and of Teachers College, Columbia University, Chisholm earned her Master of Arts in childhood education in 1951 while teaching at Mt. Calvary Child Care Center in Harlem. She served as director of Hamilton-Madison Child Care Center in lower Manhattan and consulted for New York City's Bureau of Child Welfare. Chisholm volunteered extensively in democratic political organizations before joining the New York State Assembly, the House of Representatives, and eventually the campaign in 1972 for the office of the President of the United States. She represented New York's 12th Congressional district, mostly Bedford-Stuyvesant, from 1969-1983. An advocate for child and health care, education, minimum wage, women, land rights for Native American, she left Congress to focus on higher education; she became the Purington Chair at Mount Holyoke College in Hadley, Massachusetts, and continued teaching as a visiting professor Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia.

Shirley Chisholm remains an inspiration for women, black women, educators, and activists -- her legacy felt deeply among teachers, citizens, politicans, artists, our own community. Chisholm was the subject of our recent mixed media installation, Peacing Shirley, by 2022 Myers awardee Monben Mayon, masters student at Teachers College, Columbia University, and also central to the accompanying Everett Cafe book display, Representations of Women in 20th Century United States and Beyond, designed by Trisha Barton, Gottesman's Lead Designer, alumnus of Spelman College and Teachers College, Columbia University. Chisholm's portrait by Monben Mayon will be hung in the College's landmark Tudor Room in the Spring of 2023.

The following articles are drawn from Proquest Historical Newspapers, which informs and inspires classroom teaching and learning.

• Democrat Shirley Chisholm: Congress to Admit First 'Soul Sister' in January. (1968, Nov 09). New Journal and Guide (1916-) 
• Brownmiller, S. (1969, Apr 13). This Is Fighting Shirley Chisholm: Fighting Shirley Chisholm. New York Times (1923-) 
• Shirley Chisholm: Congress' Pepperpot. (1970, Jul 31). Boston Globe (1960-) 
• Slack, S. (1970, Oct 10). A Salute to First Lady, Shirley Chisholm!: A Day In the Life Of Shirley Chisholm. New York Amsterdam News (1962-) 
• Putnam, G. (1970, Oct 25). Shirley Chisholm: Unbought Unbossed. Boston Globe (1960-) 
• Shirley Chisholm, To Keynote Street Academies Conference: Chisholm To Speak. (1975, May 28). New York Amsterdam News (1962-) 
• Trescott, J. (1982, Jun 06). Shirley Chisholm In Her Season Of Transition: The Feisty Congresswoman Wrestles With Her Leave-Taking. The Washington Post (1974-) 
• Chaplin, A. M. (1988, Mar 22). A Catalyst For Black Ambitions: Shirley Chisholm Remains Wedded To Quest For Change. The Sun (1837-) 
• News Briefs: Shirley Chisholm Dies At 80. (2005, Jan 05). Michigan Chronicle (1939-2010) 
• Shirley Chisholm Dies; Remembered As Activist. (2005, Jan 05). New Journal and Guide (1916-)  

Tips:

• Brown, Tammy L. City of Islands : Caribbean Intellectuals in New York. Jackson, [Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi, 2015. e-book
• Chisholm, Shirley. The Good Fight. New York: Harper & Row, 1973. Main E840.8.C48 A28
• Chisholm, Shirley and Donna Brazile. Unbought and Unbossed. Expanded 40th anniversary edition. Washington, D.C: Take Root Media, 2010. Main Stacks E840.8.C48 A3 2010
• Winslow, Barbara. Shirley Chisholm : Catalyst for Change, 1926-2005. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, a member of the Perseus Books Group, 2014. e-book
• Check out "Peacing Shirley", an exhibit by Monben Mayon, 2022 Myers Awardee for the Gottesman Libraries' commissioned art, and also see the related book display, Representations of Black Women in 20th Century United States and Beyond.
• See the related article, "What You May Not Know About TC Alum & Trailblazer Shirley Chisholm" published today in TC Newsroom.

Images:

• Peacing Shirley, by Monben Mayon, Courtesy of the Artist
• Special News Slide, Courtesy of Gottesman Libraries

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