Kevin Shelley
{mb_by_description}
{mb_by_casual_summary}
Table of Contents
Occupation
Family Info
Siblings
Spouses
Children
About the Shirley Chisholm
Shirley Anita Chisholmwas an American politician who, in 1968, became the first black woman to be elected to the United States Congress. Chisholm represented New York’s 12th congressional district, a district centered in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn for seven terms from 1969 to 1983. In 1972, she became the first black candidate for a major-party nomination for President of the United States and the first woman to run for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. Throughout her career, she was known for taking “a resolute stand against economic, social, and political injustices,” as well as being a strong supporter of black civil rights and women’s rights.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, she spent ages five through nine in Barbados, and she always considered herself a Barbadian American. She excelled at school and earned her college degree in the United States. She started working in early childhood education, and she became involved in local Democratic Party politics in the 1950s. In 1964, overcoming some resistance because she was a woman, she was elected to the New York State Assembly. Four years later, she was elected to Congress, where she led the expansion of food and nutrition programs for the poor and rose to party leadership. She retired from Congress in 1983 and taught at Mount Holyoke College while continuing her political organizing. Although nominated for the ambassadorship to Jamaica in 1993, health issues caused her to withdraw. In 2015, Chisholm was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Frequently Asked Questions
{mb_by_number_of_quotes} Quotes by Shirley Chisholm
- 1.
The liberals in the House strongly resemble liberals I have known through the last two decades in the civil rights conflict. When it comes time to show on which side they will be counted, they excuse themselves.
Shirley Chisholm{mb_by_description:plain}
- 2.
When morality comes up against profit, it is seldom that profit loses.
Shirley Chisholm{mb_by_description:plain}
- 3.
I don’t measure America by its achievement but by its potential.
Shirley Chisholm{mb_by_description:plain}
- 4.
Of my two handicaps, being female put many more obstacles in my path than being black.
Shirley Chisholm{mb_by_description:plain}
- 5.
There is little place in the political scheme of things for an independent, creative personality, for a fighter. Anyone who takes that role must pay a price.
Shirley Chisholm{mb_by_description:plain}
- 6.
Tremendous amounts of talent are lost to our society just because that talent wears a skirt.
Shirley Chisholm{mb_by_description:plain}
- 7.
The emotional, sexual, and psychological stereotyping of females begins when the doctor says: It’s a girl.
Shirley Chisholm{mb_by_description:plain}
- 8.
At present, our country needs women’s idealism and determination, perhaps more in politics than anywhere else.
Shirley Chisholm{mb_by_description:plain}
- 9.
Congress seems drugged and inert most of the time… its idea of meeting a problem is to hold hearings or, in extreme cases, to appoint a commission.
Shirley Chisholm{mb_by_description:plain}
- 10.
Service is the rent that you pay for room on this earth.
Shirley Chisholm{mb_by_description:plain}
- 11.
You don’t make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.
Shirley Chisholm{mb_by_description:plain}