Former Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, Shirley Chisholm was the first woman to ever run for President of the United States in 1972 and the first African American woman in Congress. Following in her footsteps is Vice President Kamala Harris
Born in 1924 in Brooklyn, NY, Chisholm was the oldest of four, born to immigrant parents, Charles St. Hill and Ruby Seale St. Hill. Graduating from Brooklyn College cum laude, she was encouraged to pursue a career in politics, but considered herself at a disadvantage, or having a “double handicap,” being both Black and female. Chisholm went on to get her master’s degree from Columbia University, and in 1964 she became the second African American in the New York State Legislature. After winning a seat in Congress in 1968, “Fighting Shirley,” as she was known, introduced more than 50 pieces of legislation. As co-founder of the National Women’s Political Caucus, she was a champion in pursuit of racial and gender equality. In 1977 she became the first Black woman to serve on the House Rules Committee.
Despite innumerable obstacles and discrimination, Shirley Chisholm pushed forward. After being blocked from participating in the televised primary debates, she took legal action and was then permitted to make a single speech. Chisholm refused to back down, and despite having an under-financed campaign and lack of support from the predominantly male Congressional Black Caucus, she managed to enter 12 primaries and garner 10% of the total delegates’ votes, totaling 152 votes.
Chisholm certainly left a strong legacy for future Black women, making her mark as someone who refused to give up despite the odds being against her. “I want to be remembered as a woman… who dared to be a catalyst of change.”
Chisholm’s rightful counterpart, Vice President Kamala Harris, is blazing her own trail as the first African American and Indian American woman of Asian American descent to be elected vice president of the United States.
Born in 1964 in Oakland, California, Harris is the daughter of immigrant parents and was raised by her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, who made an effort to make sure Harris and her sister were connected to their Indian American and African American roots. Harris would attend Civil Rights marches with her mother and credits these experiences as her inspiration to fight injustice.
“My mother understood very well that she was raising two black daughters,” Harris said in her autobiography. “She knew that her adopted homeland would see Maya and me as black girls and she was determined to make sure we would grow into confident, proud black women.”
Graduating from Howard University, an acclaimed HBCU, then getting her law degree from the University of California Hastings College of the Law, Harris was elected District Attorney of the City and County of San Francisco in 2003. Then in 2010 she became California’s first African American woman to serve as Attorney General. She continued to shatter glass ceilings, becoming the second African American woman to be elected Senator for California in 2016.
During her time in the Senate Harris served on two committees of great significance, the Intelligence Committee and the Judiciary Committee. Harris had proven her capability as a fearless leader and ultimately became the first female, African American and Asian American vice president of the United States.
Harris and Chisholm, alike, have left legacies of great impact. They have shattered the glass ceiling and blazed the trail, so that all women might tread more easily.
“And to the children of our country, regardless of your gender, our country has sent you a clear message: Dream with ambition, lead with conviction, and see yourself in a way that others might not see you, simply because they’ve never seen it before,” Harris said in a speech.
