Shirley+Anita+St.+Hill+Chisholm

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Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm was born on November 30, 1924 in Brooklyn, New York. Her father Charles St. Hill was from British Giaunna and her mother Ruby St. HIll was from Barbados. She spent some of her early life in Christ Church, Barbados and later moved back to Brooklyn, New York. Chisholm moved with her maternal grandmother Emaline Seale at age 3, and she attended schools in Christ Church, Barbados until she moved back home to Brooklyn, New York were she attended Girls High School. Going to school in school in Barbados in her younger years taught Chisholm a lot in her educational process. She graduated from High School in 1942. Chisholm majored in sociology at [|Brooklyn College] after she graduated from High School. At Brooklyn College Chisholm encountered racism and her and many other African American students were denied admittance to social groups. In 1946 Shirley Chisholm received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Brooklyn College. After she graduated she had many troubles finding a job so she took a job as a nursery school teacher, while teaching she studied elementary education at [|Colombia University]. She received her Mastor's degree from [|Colombia University] in 1952.

In 1949 she married Conrad Chishom, they divorced in 1977.

Shirley Chisholm worked from 1953 to 1959 in the child day care field. She later accepted a position as [|Division of Day Care for New York City] and she worked their until 1964. In 1964 Chisholm ran for a position in the [|New York State Legislature]. Due to her being so active in her community she was elected and given a seat on the Legislature and she served as an assemblywoman until 1968.

Shirley Chisholm was elected to the [|United States House of Representatives] after she finished her work on with the New York State Legislature. She defeated republican candidate James Farmer to become the first African American woman elected to the United States House of Representatives. She served in Congress from 1969 to 1983, over that time she served six consecutive terms. In 1972 Shirley Chisholm was the first major African American to run for the president of the United States, preceded by [|Clennon Washington King, Jr.] in 1960 and a couple others who ran for president as part of independent parties. She ran for the [|Democratic Party] nomination but after receiving 152 delegate votes she withdrew her nomination. Chisholm retired from politics in 1983, after she retired she worked as a lecturer and she taught at a university. In 1993, Shirley Chisholm was inducted into the [|National Women's Hall of Fame]. In 2003, [|Molefi Kete Asante] listed Shirley Chisholm on his list of the [|100 Greatest African American]. Chisholm throughout her life faced many obstacles and challenges because she was an African American woman living in the times of racial discrimination. She pursued her career to fight against discrimination and unfairness. She spoke and worked rigorously for women's rights and civil rights throughout her life. She also worked for the rights of the poor while serving in Congress. Chisholm was also against the Vietnam war and she actively displayed it. She also was against weapons development. She overcame the obstacles that stood in her way by working hard and giving everything she had to fight for her beliefs.

During her life Chisholm authored two autobiographical books. She authored [|Unbought and Unbossed] in 1970 and in 1971 she authored The Good Fight. Chisholm died on January 1, 2005 in Ormond Beach, Florida.

Shirley Chisholm deserves to be recognized as an African American historian because of the many accomplishments she had in life and the many vigorous obstacles she overcame. Shirley Chisholm should be recognized because she was the first African American woman to run for president and the first woman to be elected to a seat in Congress. Chisholm was forced to fight for her rights because she lived in times were it wasn't as easy for African Americans to thrive in society as it is in todays times. Chisholm was discriminated against while she attended college but she rose above it and fought to make the world a better place. She fought against racial discrimination and many other types of discrimination. She has taught me to always do my best in everything that i do no matter what it is. She taught me to fight for my rights and stand for what i believe in no matter who is in opposition to my opinions. shirley Chisholm's legacy will continue forever because every time an African American woman is elected to Congress we know she helped pave the way for them. Also every time an African American runs for president or is elected president (Barrack Obama ) we know she helped pave the way for them. Shirley Chiosholm's legacy continues through all African Americans that get there education and thrive in todays society because without her many freedoms we have as African Americans might not even have been freedoms.

Shirley Chisholm once said, “… Prejudice and hatred built the nation’s slums, maintains them and profits by them…. Unless we start to fight and defeat the enemies in our own country, poverty and racism, and make our talk of equality and opportunity ring true, we are exposed in the eyes of the world as hypocrites when we talk about making people free.”

Work Cited:

1. Shirely Chisholm. 2010 Advameg, Inc., [], 2. Shirley Chisholm. Essortment, 2010. [] 3. Biography: Life of Shirley Chisholm. Online Study Guide 2010. []. 4. Americans Tell The Truth. Shirley Chisholm 2010. []