Running head: INTELLECTUAL BIOGRAPHY 1

Intellectual Biography of an African American Social Welfare Pioneer

Lakeisha M. Mixon

Morgan State University

Introduction

A catalyst of change, Shirley Chisolm is known as the first African American woman in

Congress and the first woman and African American to seek the nomination for president of the

United States from one of the two major political parties. What makes Shirley Chisolm a pioneer

is her unwavering dedication to eradicating the stagnated progress in the black community and

her commitment to combatting the intersectionality of oppression faced by black women. A

proud feminist, Shirley Chisolm frequently confronted male-centered views while impacting,

transforming, and liberating oppressed Blacks and women across the nation.

Early Life

Shirley Chisholm was born Shirley Anita St. Hill on November 30, 1924 in Brooklyn,

New York. She was the eldest of four daughters to her West Indian parents; Ruby Seale St. Hill,

a seamstress from Barbados and Charles St. Hill, a factory worker from Guyana (Mungen,

(2013). When she was three years old, she was sent to Barbados to live on a farm with her

grandmother which is where she received much of her primary education. The Barbadian school

system stressed the traditional teachings of reading, writing, and history. Chisolm credits much

of her educational successes to this well-rounded early education (Mungen, (2013). Chisolm

returned to New York seven years later, at the age of ten. Upon her return to school in Brooklyn,

she was placed in the third grade instead of the sixth grade because she lacked knowledge of

American History and geography.

“It's the first time I recall being completely in a world of whites… I kept making spitballs

in class and propelled them with rubber bands. I was quite the discipline problem… They

finally gave me an I. Q. test and found I had a near‐genius I. Q. of 170. So, they skipped
 INTELLECTUAL BIOGRAPHY 3

me to the fifth grade and gave me a tutor in history and geography till I caught up”

(Chisolm,1970).

Shirley Chisolm’s fertile teenage mind was challenged by the daily lectures and

discussions with her father, who was largely self-educated. Both parents imposed strict rules on

educational and religious practices (Gallagher, (2007). Her father, Charles St. Hill was a

voracious reader who devoured several publications a day. Like many working-class Blacks, he

was an avid follower of the charismatic Pan-Africanist leader Marcus Garvey (Mungen, (2013).

Shirley Chisholm received her high school diploma from Brooklyn Girls High in 1942.

While training to be a teacher at Brooklyn College, Chisholm became active in several campus

and community groups, such as the Harriet Tubman club and Ipothia, an interracial women’s

organization (Gallagher, (2007). She developed an interest in politics and learned the arts of

organizing and fundraising. Soon, she developed a deep resentment toward the role of women in

local politics, which, at the time, consisted mostly of staying in the background and playing a

secondary role to their male equals. Through campus politics and her work with the National

Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Shirley Chisholm found a way to

voice her opinions about economic and social structures in a rapidly changing nation

(NotableBiographies.com, n.d.).

After graduating with honors from Brooklyn College in 1946, Chisholm began work as a

nursery school teacher and later as a director of schools for early childhood education. She

continued her education part-time, earning her master’s degree from Columbia University. In

1949, she married Conrad Chisholm, a graduate student from Jamaica who worked as a private

detective in NY (Loveday, (2017).

Black Feminist, Grass Roots Activist, and Political Contender

Black Feminist

Considered by many to be one of the founding feminists, for Shirley Chisholm, the term

“black feminist” represents an intersectional approach to wielding political power (Curwood,

(2015). She embraced her position as a black woman and used that perspective to navigate the

direction of the movements she established and participated in. While Chisholm participated in

several important movements, she was very clear on her stand regarding initiatives that would

support the black family.

“If we are to relieve the burden it will not be at conferences and rap sessions about their

situation, but by providing employment opportunities for the Black man who can’t

support his family, but instead must leave so that his wife will be eligible for welfare

benefits. No one stops to recognize that in America, Black men on the street corners do

not have passports to American society – a white skin – and are paid wages

embarrassing to them. Union membership is closed. We need a Marshall Plan

immediately that will give Black men an opportunity to work and will provide day care

centers so that money spent for child care can be spent instead where it is needed – for

rent, food, clothing, not to mention education.” (Chisholm, 1972).

Black women like Chisholm, communist Angela Davis, Black Panther Elaine Brown, and

writers Toni Cade Bambara and Toni Morrison also comprised this group of black women who

emerged to challenge black power, civil rights, feminism, and liberalism during the late 1960s

and early 1970s. As historians like Paula Giddings and Deborah Gray White have illustrated, this
 INTELLECTUAL BIOGRAPHY 5

group of women tapped into a tradition of independent and intersectional politics distinct from

black men and white women (McCoy, (2012). Chisholm was no different.

Grassroots Activist & Contributions to Social Welfare

Chisholm continued to work for the causes she had espoused as a community activist.

She sponsored increases in federal funding to extend the hours of daycare facilities and a

guaranteed minimum annual income for families. She was a fierce defender of federal assistance

for education, serving as a primary backer of a national school lunch bill and leading her

colleagues in overriding President Gerald R. Ford's veto on this measure. Unique about Chisolm

is in her efforts to address the needs of the "havenots”, she often chose to work outside the

established system.

Shirley Chisholm also worked with Robert Dole to expand the current food stamp

program. She later played a critical role in the creation and passage of the Supplemental

Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program.

Chisholm wrote a bill that instituted S.E.E.K. (Search for Education, Elevation, and Knowledge),

a program that provided college funding to disadvantaged youth, which allowed CUNY to admit

a more diverse urban population. To many, Shirley Chisholm was considered a "radical

pragmatist," a bridge between activists and the state. She simultaneously allied with left leaning

radicalism and established political processes, confounding boundaries between activism and the

state. Her work as an activist necessitated coalitions within and across social movements and

political structures.
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Political Contender

Shirley Chisholm's education in practical politics began when she joined a local

Democratic club. Blacks who attended club meetings were generally meek and subservient,

sitting silently while the white club leaders ran the meeting.

“If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair. (Chisolm, 1970).”

Almost immediately Chisholm began questioning the club leaders: Why wasn't trash collected

more often in the black neighborhoods? Why didn't black neighborhoods receive as much public

service as the white neighborhoods? The club leaders tried to keep her quiet by appointing her to

the board of directors. When that didn't work, they removed her from office. The experience

taught Chisholm that those who hold political power don't like boat rockers, not that it deterred

her as she would continue to go on rocking more boats (Morin, (1994).

During her career as a teacher, Chisholm also became involved in several organizations

including the League of Women Voters and the Seventeenth Assembly District Democratic Club

(Loveday, (2017). She became politically active with the Democratic Party and quickly

developed a reputation as a person who challenged the traditional roles of women.

"Tremendous amounts of talent are lost to our society just because that talent wears a

skirt"(Chisolm, 1972).

Additionally, Chisholm would routinely interweave antiwar, race, class, gender, and civil rights

movement issues into her political priorities (Curwood, (2015), long before the term

“intersectionality” was coined.

Chisholm also joined a group of community activists that challenged the white-

dominated democratic political machine in Brooklyn. Chisolm and other activists created an

agenda to elect an African American to replace a municipal judge (Gallegher, (2007). With

Chisholm’s aggressive involvement, the 1953 campaign was a success and helped to transform

the committee into the Bedford Stuyvesant Political League. The organization would dismantle

just five years later after a standoff between Chisholm and another member over control of the

organization. Since women were doing the work, Chisolm wanted input into the decision

making.

Political Pioneer: Unbought and Unbothered

After a successful career as a teacher, Chisholm decided to run for the New York State

Assembly. Her ideals were perfect for the times! In the mid-1960s, the civil rights movement

was in full swing. Across the nation, activists were working for equal civil rights for all

Americans, regardless of race. In 1964, Chisholm became the second African American elected

to the New York State assembly. In August 1968, she was elected as the Democratic National

Committeewoman from New York State. Shirley Chisolm defeated two other black opponents

running for the New York’s 12th District US House of Representatives, becoming the first Black

woman elected into Congress. Chisholm was also one of the founders of both the Black

Congressional Caucus (1971) and the National Women’s Political Caucus (1972).

In 1972, Shirley Chisolm announced her candidacy for president of the United States.

Shirley Chisholm saw her presidential bid as a spur to greater participation in American politics

by a more diverse range of voters and activists.

“I stand before you today to repudiate the ridiculous notion that the American people

will not vote for a qualified candidate because he is not white or because she is not male.

I do not believe that in 1972, the great majority of Americans harbor such narrow and

petty prejudices. I am not the candidate of black America although I am black and proud.

I’m not the candidate of the Women’s Movement of this country although I am a woman

and I’m equally proud of that. I am a candidate of the people and my presence before you

now symbolizes a new era in American political history. (Chisholm, 1972).

Despite her trailblazing political background, Chisholm received less than robust support

from feminist leaders and surprisingly, black politicians (Ware, (2015). Media at that time

reported that Black male antipathy toward Mrs. Chisholm may well have been heightened by

concern that enthusiastic support for a black woman would be taken as proof of the theory that

Black people form a matriarchal subculture within American society. Others believed that her

decision to run for the Democratic nomination caught many members of the Congressional Black

Caucus off-guard, and they weren’t happy that she acted before a formal and unified decision

could be made. But Chisholm had never been one to wait! When the subject of the CBC came up

on the night she announced her campaign, she told the crowd, “While they’re rapping and

snapping, I’m mapping.” Chisholm further explains the lack of support as male chauvinism.

“What makes you think black male politicians are any different from white male

politicians? …This ‘woman thing’ is so deep. I met more discrimination as a woman than

for being black. Men are men. I've found it out in this campaign if I never knew it

before.” (Chisholm, (1972).

Her male counterparts weren’t her only challenges. Shirley Chisholm received multiple

threats against her life, including assassination attempts, and was granted Secret Service

protection to ensure her safety. Chisholm also filed a complaint, then eventually sued the Federal

Communications Commission to be included in televised debates. Despite the challenges,

Chisholm remained steadfast. She continued to work diligently on her campaign along with her

all-female office staff. Her bid for president resulted in a loss but her run was still historical and

legendary nonetheless. Although her campaign wasn’t as well-funded as her competitors’,

Chisholm did get her name on the primary ballot in 12 states and won 28 delegates in

primary elections. She received about 152 delegates at the Democratic National

Convention, coming in fourth place for the party. Although Shirley Chisholm did not win

any primaries, she manages outlast several contenders.

Urban Social Work

Empowerment & Advocacy

Empowerment is defined by Whitmore (1988) as “an interactive process through which

people experience personal and social change, enabling them to take action to achieve influence

over the organizations and institutions which affect their lives and the communities in which they

live” (p. 13). Shirley Chisholm used her power to represent the interest of the powerless –

Blacks, women, and lower class. She built on the strengths of Blacks, women, and her

community to eliminate the systemic barriers that had been created to disempower them.

Chisholm helped the oppressed to utilize their own voices to achieve personal, social,

educational, economic, and political change.

Strengths & Resilience

A strengths and resilience perspective views people, as well as their personal and social

problems, in favorable, non-deficit orientation. Weick (1992) posits that “every person has an

inherent power that may be characterized as life force, transformational capacity, life energy,

spirituality, regenerative potential, and healing power. . . that can guide personal and social

transformation” (p. 24). This speaks directly to who Shirley Chisolm was as a black feminist

leader and politician. She refused to be viewed as the disadvantaged, the misfortunate, or the

unheralded because of her race or gender. Shirley Chisolm refused to be overlooked because of

the societal deficits that were placed on her. She survived the challenges and continued to thrive

as an activist and leader despite being an unwilling martyr for the Barack Obamas’ and Hillary

Clintons’ of today.

African-Centered Perspective

The African-centered perspective promotes a social paradigm that reflects the cultural

and political reality of African Americans, moves toward the removal of negative distortions,

preconceived notions, and damaging theoretical and practice approaches toward people of

African ancestry, and promotes a worldview that fosters human and societal transformations

(Schiele, 2013). Shirley Chisholm used her brilliant mind to reflect and change the African

American experience in America. She was aware of who she was a Black woman, but most

important, she understood the importance of the Black family and the Black man’s significant

contribution to the Black family. Shirley Chisolm wholeheartedly embraced the principle of self-

reliance; strengthening herself for both the benefit of herself and others. She often contributed to

the betterment of her childhood community, Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn, NY.

Implication for Current Social Work Practice.

Shirley Chisholm ran for president over 45 years ago, yet despite her landmark bid the

current 45th lets social workers know, there is still much to be done. Chisholm’s implications for

social work practice should focus heavily on approaching clients and communities from a

strengths-based perspective. While many social workers grapple with practicing in agencies that

use a deficit, disease, and problem approach, we must focus on the strengths in our clients as

well as our communities.

The 45th would have the world to believe that simply because of your gender, the color of

your skin, or your U.S. citizenship status, you are to be treated without respect. Social workers

must stand against these demeaning ideologies because, as with Shirley Chisholm, this dialogue

is based on nothing but jealously, envy, and fear. Social workers cannot allow this poison to seep

into the clients and communities we serve. “We must reject not only the stereotypes that others

have of us, but also those that we have of ourselves.” We must denounce the damaging rhetoric

and help to educate, encourage, and embrace a social norm that is more aligned with the truth of

Black greatness.

Conclusion

With her lack of respect for boundaries, Shirley Chisholm deftly lead tremendous

movements in feminism, politics, and the black freedom struggle. She was a serious political

contender who demonstrated that a candidate who was black or female or both, belonged in the

national spotlight. Put another way, she anticipated the 2008 contest between Barack Obama and

Hillary Clinton by almost forty years (Ware, (2015). Irrepressible, unrelenting, and pathbreaking,
 INTELLECTUAL BIOGRAPHY 12

Shirley Chisolm is a trailblazer who will not soon be forgotten, as a pioneer in both history and

herstory.
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References

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Chisholm, S. (1973). The Good Fight. New York, NY: Harper Collins.

Curwood, A. (2015). Black Feminism on Capitol Hill: Shirley Chisholm and Movement Politics,

1968-1984. Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism, Vol. 13, No. 1, PP. 204-232.

Dismore, D. (2015). Today in Herstory: Gloria Steinem and Shirley Chisholm Take on Sexism

Together. Retrieved from https://feminist.org/blog/index.php/2015/01/21/today-in-

herstory-gloria-steinem-and-shirley-chisholm-take-on-sexism-together/

Gallagher, J. (2007). Waging 'the good fight': the political career of Shirley Chisholm, 1953-

1982. The Journal of African American History, (3), 392.

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Moore, L. (2018). The Defeat of Black Power: Civil Rights and the National Black Political

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