1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:04,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:13,680 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot Com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:17,239 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy B. Wilson and I'm Holly Fry. Today we 4 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:19,720 Speaker 1: are going to talk about Shirley Chisholm. She has been 5 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:24,480 Speaker 1: on my list for a really long time, but we're 6 00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:26,920 Speaker 1: coming up on the fiftieth anniversary of her becoming the 7 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:30,000 Speaker 1: first black woman elected to the US Congress. I think 8 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:33,479 Speaker 1: this episode is actually coming out on that anniversary, so 9 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:35,159 Speaker 1: it seems like a really good time to move her 10 00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:37,720 Speaker 1: up from the top of the list. She's also making 11 00:00:37,720 --> 00:00:40,040 Speaker 1: appearance on this day in History Class, so it is 12 00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:42,720 Speaker 1: great to be able to research two different shows at 13 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:47,440 Speaker 1: the same time. Who Uh. Shirley Chisholm was born Shirley 14 00:00:47,479 --> 00:00:52,080 Speaker 1: Anita st. Hill on November in Brooklyn, New York. Her 15 00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:55,840 Speaker 1: parents were both immigrants to the United States. Her mother, Ruby, 16 00:00:55,880 --> 00:00:58,000 Speaker 1: was from Barbados and immigrated to the U. S and 17 00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:02,480 Speaker 1: n Shirley's father, Charles, was born in British Guiana which 18 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:05,080 Speaker 1: is now just Guiana, and he lived in Barbados in 19 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:09,200 Speaker 1: Cuba before arriving in the US. N And even though 20 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:12,080 Speaker 1: he had been born in South America, he always thought 21 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:15,440 Speaker 1: of himself as Barbadian. Charles and Ruby had met in 22 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:19,160 Speaker 1: Barbados before they each, independently of one another, immigrated to 23 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:22,560 Speaker 1: the United States. They both moved to Brooklyn, which had 24 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:26,480 Speaker 1: a significant population of Caribbean immigrants. At least sixteen percent 25 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:29,760 Speaker 1: of Brooklyn's black residents were from the Caribbean. Charles and 26 00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:33,040 Speaker 1: Ruby became reacquainted in Brooklyn, and they got married after 27 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:36,679 Speaker 1: a short but very strict and traditional courtship. The st 28 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:40,120 Speaker 1: Hills went on to have four daughters. Shirley was the 29 00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:44,120 Speaker 1: oldest and was followed by Odessa, Muriel, and Selma. Charles 30 00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:47,200 Speaker 1: and Ruby raised their daughters to be disciplined, thrifty, and 31 00:01:47,319 --> 00:01:50,960 Speaker 1: hard working Christians. They also had two very clear goals 32 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:53,880 Speaker 1: for their family. They wanted to own their home and 33 00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:56,320 Speaker 1: they wanted all of their daughters to go to college. 34 00:01:56,880 --> 00:02:00,080 Speaker 1: But money was a very serious obstacle to both of 35 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:03,400 Speaker 1: these goals. Charles was a laborer and his job as 36 00:02:03,400 --> 00:02:07,120 Speaker 1: a baker's assistant was very low paying. There weren't really 37 00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:11,440 Speaker 1: any options for affordable childcare either, so Ruby couldn't work 38 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:14,880 Speaker 1: outside the home. Once she started having children, She tried 39 00:02:14,919 --> 00:02:17,360 Speaker 1: to help make ends meet by taking in sewing, but 40 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:19,680 Speaker 1: it was just not enough money for them to save 41 00:02:19,720 --> 00:02:23,239 Speaker 1: for a home or for a college education for their daughters, 42 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:27,400 Speaker 1: so in before their youngest daughter, Selma, was born, the 43 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:32,320 Speaker 1: st Hills decided to send Shirley, Odessa, and Muriel to Barbados. There, 44 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:34,400 Speaker 1: they would live with Ruby's mother and be raised with 45 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:37,360 Speaker 1: the help of a sister, and the girl's education was 46 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:40,400 Speaker 1: part of this decision. Ruby thought that they would get 47 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:43,680 Speaker 1: a better education in Barbados, where schools were strict and 48 00:02:43,720 --> 00:02:47,560 Speaker 1: focused on reading, writing, and arithmetic, rather than in the US, 49 00:02:47,639 --> 00:02:51,000 Speaker 1: which had widely adopted kindergarten and play based learning in 50 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:54,800 Speaker 1: the early grades. Ruby traveled to Barbados with her daughters 51 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:57,160 Speaker 1: and four of their cousins and she stayed there for 52 00:02:57,200 --> 00:03:00,280 Speaker 1: six months before going back to Brooklyn. And of course, 53 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:03,480 Speaker 1: life in Barbados was dramatically different from what the girls 54 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:05,880 Speaker 1: had been used to back in the States. They went 55 00:03:05,919 --> 00:03:08,720 Speaker 1: from living in a densely populated city to living on 56 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:11,680 Speaker 1: a farm, and their chores on the farm included caring 57 00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:14,600 Speaker 1: for the animals and vegetables that would help be the family. 58 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:18,120 Speaker 1: The culture shock was repeated when the st Hills decided 59 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:21,120 Speaker 1: to bring their daughters back from Barbados when Shirley was ten. 60 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:23,680 Speaker 1: She had left for Barbados at the age of three, 61 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:26,200 Speaker 1: and she had very little memory of Brooklyn by the 62 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:28,880 Speaker 1: time she got home again. In Barbados, she had been 63 00:03:28,919 --> 00:03:31,720 Speaker 1: living in a close knit community where everyone knew each other, 64 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:34,920 Speaker 1: but Brooklyn was full of strangers that she wasn't supposed 65 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:37,800 Speaker 1: to talk to. The people around her in Brooklyn were 66 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:40,920 Speaker 1: also very different. At the time, the st Hills were 67 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:44,560 Speaker 1: living in Brooklyn's Brownsville neighborhood, which was predominantly Jewish and 68 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:47,520 Speaker 1: included a lot of immigrants from Eastern Europe, as well 69 00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:51,600 Speaker 1: as people from Italy, Puerto Rico, and Syria. In Barbados, 70 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:56,040 Speaker 1: they had been surrounded almost entirely by other Barbadians. Shirley 71 00:03:56,080 --> 00:03:59,880 Speaker 1: also started seeing racial prejudice and discrimination after getting back 72 00:03:59,880 --> 00:04:03,520 Speaker 1: to the US. There was, of course racism in Barbados, 73 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:06,400 Speaker 1: which was still under British colonial rule and was home 74 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:09,920 Speaker 1: to a growing movement for independence and civil rights, but 75 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:11,720 Speaker 1: since they had been living on a farm in a 76 00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:14,280 Speaker 1: rural area, it just was not something that the children 77 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:17,800 Speaker 1: were conscious about day to day. In Brooklyn, however, racial 78 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:22,039 Speaker 1: disparities were obvious. For example, Shirley went from attending a 79 00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:24,920 Speaker 1: school in Barbados that had black teachers and staff to 80 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:27,839 Speaker 1: one in Brooklyn in which nearly all the teachers and 81 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:32,160 Speaker 1: administrators were white. The family also experienced poverty in both 82 00:04:32,160 --> 00:04:35,159 Speaker 1: Barbados and Brooklyn. Like The reason that the st Hills 83 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:38,000 Speaker 1: had not all gone to Barbados together was that that 84 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:41,359 Speaker 1: would have been even harder than having the parents in 85 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:45,200 Speaker 1: New York and the children and Barbados. But the experience 86 00:04:45,200 --> 00:04:48,839 Speaker 1: of poverty was completely different in these two places. And Barbados, 87 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:50,720 Speaker 1: they were poor, but they were able to raise their 88 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:53,320 Speaker 1: own food, and they were surrounded by a community of 89 00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:55,880 Speaker 1: people who were in very similar circumstances, and they all 90 00:04:55,920 --> 00:04:59,400 Speaker 1: worked to support and nurture each other. But in Brooklyn 91 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:02,839 Speaker 1: they faced social stigma about being poorer. On top of 92 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:07,160 Speaker 1: hunger and a lack of resources, it was also cold. 93 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:11,039 Speaker 1: Apart from the temperature differences between New York and the Caribbean, 94 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:13,919 Speaker 1: parts of the st Hill home in Brooklyn had no heat. 95 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:17,640 Speaker 1: Based on her age and her education in Barbados surely 96 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:19,880 Speaker 1: should have started sixth grade when she came back to 97 00:05:19,920 --> 00:05:23,040 Speaker 1: the US, but she was placed in third grade instead. 98 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:27,120 Speaker 1: Her skills in subjects like reading and writing were really good, 99 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:30,400 Speaker 1: but because she hadn't been attending school in the United States, 100 00:05:30,880 --> 00:05:35,040 Speaker 1: she knew very little about US history and geography. Naturally, 101 00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:38,160 Speaker 1: she was bored and unchallenged, and she dealt with it 102 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:42,880 Speaker 1: by misbehaving in class. Fortunately, her teacher realized exactly what 103 00:05:42,920 --> 00:05:45,200 Speaker 1: was going on right away and arranged for her to 104 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:49,040 Speaker 1: have a tutor. Within eighteen months, she had surpassed her 105 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:51,480 Speaker 1: peers of her own age and had grown to really 106 00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:54,039 Speaker 1: love school, and that was something that would continue for 107 00:05:54,040 --> 00:05:57,080 Speaker 1: the rest of her education. In nineteen thirty six, the 108 00:05:57,080 --> 00:06:01,120 Speaker 1: st Hills moved from Brooklyn's Brownsville neighborhood to Bedford Stuyvesant. 109 00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:04,240 Speaker 1: With all the girls in school, Shirley's mother was able 110 00:06:04,279 --> 00:06:06,200 Speaker 1: to work again and she got a job as a 111 00:06:06,279 --> 00:06:10,520 Speaker 1: domestic Shirley became responsible for her younger sisters, so she 112 00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:12,599 Speaker 1: would pick them up to go home for lunch, take 113 00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:15,120 Speaker 1: them back to school, and then after school she would 114 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:17,599 Speaker 1: pick them up again and look after them until after 115 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:20,599 Speaker 1: their mother got home. Ruby was still really involved in 116 00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:23,800 Speaker 1: her daughter's lives and their education. Now. Sometimes she would 117 00:06:23,839 --> 00:06:25,680 Speaker 1: do her daughter's chores so that they could spend more 118 00:06:25,680 --> 00:06:27,760 Speaker 1: time on their school work, and then she also took 119 00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:30,240 Speaker 1: them on regular trips to the public library and asked 120 00:06:30,279 --> 00:06:32,440 Speaker 1: them lots and lots of questions about the books that 121 00:06:32,480 --> 00:06:36,040 Speaker 1: they were reading before their next trip. Shirley entered Girls 122 00:06:36,120 --> 00:06:38,800 Speaker 1: High School in Brooklyn in nineteen thirty nine, and she 123 00:06:38,839 --> 00:06:42,400 Speaker 1: graduated in nineteen forty two. She excelled there and she 124 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:46,119 Speaker 1: got scholarships to Vassar and Oberlin, but the st. Hills 125 00:06:46,120 --> 00:06:47,960 Speaker 1: could not afford to pay for room and board at 126 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:52,040 Speaker 1: either of those schools, so instead, Shirley entered Brooklyn College 127 00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:55,599 Speaker 1: in the fall of nineteen forty two. The racial disparities 128 00:06:55,640 --> 00:06:58,960 Speaker 1: that Shirley had experienced in her education so far continued 129 00:06:59,040 --> 00:07:01,880 Speaker 1: when she got to college. Even though Brooklyn had a 130 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:05,919 Speaker 1: significant black population, there were only about sixty black students 131 00:07:05,960 --> 00:07:09,000 Speaker 1: at the college. That was out of roughly ten thousand 132 00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:13,640 Speaker 1: graduate and undergraduate students. Most of the teachers and administrators 133 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:16,560 Speaker 1: were also white, and the entirety of the student council 134 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:19,560 Speaker 1: was white. When Shirley was growing up, her parents had 135 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:23,040 Speaker 1: been very strict and very focused on her schooling, and 136 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:26,440 Speaker 1: that continued to be true when she started college. During 137 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:28,920 Speaker 1: her first year, she spent most of her time studying, 138 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:31,160 Speaker 1: and she did not have much of a social life, 139 00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:34,560 Speaker 1: but she really thrived in college and ultimately joined the 140 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:39,000 Speaker 1: Harriet Tubman Society, the Debating Society, the Brooklyn chapter of 141 00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:41,920 Speaker 1: the nub A c P, and the Brooklyn Urban League. 142 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:45,760 Speaker 1: She majored in sociology and minored in Spanish, and she 143 00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:50,120 Speaker 1: graduated with honors in nineteen forty six. Shirley also started 144 00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:52,800 Speaker 1: on the path to politics while she was in college. 145 00:07:53,040 --> 00:07:56,640 Speaker 1: She joined the seventeenth Assembly District Democratic Club, and she 146 00:07:56,760 --> 00:07:59,560 Speaker 1: also met Wesley McDonald holder, who was known as Mack 147 00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:03,000 Speaker 1: during her senior year. He was a political organizer and 148 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:06,680 Speaker 1: was nicknamed the Dean of Black Brooklyn politics. He would 149 00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:10,520 Speaker 1: become her political mentor. One of her professors also told 150 00:08:10,520 --> 00:08:13,040 Speaker 1: her during class that she should go into politics, and 151 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:17,040 Speaker 1: she replied, you forget two things. I'm black and I'm 152 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:20,400 Speaker 1: a woman. But she did go into politics, which we 153 00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:22,480 Speaker 1: were going to talk about after we first paused for 154 00:08:22,520 --> 00:08:33,240 Speaker 1: a little sponsor break. After graduating from college, surely st 155 00:08:33,320 --> 00:08:35,320 Speaker 1: Hill lived with her parents, who had saved up enough 156 00:08:35,360 --> 00:08:37,640 Speaker 1: money to buy a home thanks to her father's work 157 00:08:37,679 --> 00:08:40,840 Speaker 1: in a factory during World War Two. For a while, 158 00:08:41,040 --> 00:08:45,079 Speaker 1: she struggled to find a job. Though she was very diminutive, 159 00:08:45,160 --> 00:08:48,400 Speaker 1: I mean just tiny, and she spoke with a slight lisp, 160 00:08:48,559 --> 00:08:51,160 Speaker 1: so people had trouble believing that she was really a 161 00:08:51,200 --> 00:08:55,400 Speaker 1: college graduate. Repeatedly, she would interview for jobs that she 162 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:58,840 Speaker 1: met the qualifications for, only to be told that she 163 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:02,319 Speaker 1: did not actually meet them. She was finally hired at 164 00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:05,760 Speaker 1: Mount Cavalry child Care Center in Harlem, and she worked 165 00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:09,200 Speaker 1: there from nineteen forty six to nineteen fifty three. She 166 00:09:09,280 --> 00:09:13,000 Speaker 1: also started a master's degree program in early childhood education 167 00:09:13,080 --> 00:09:16,800 Speaker 1: at Columbia Teachers College. She took classes at night while 168 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:19,679 Speaker 1: working at the child care center during the day. In 169 00:09:19,800 --> 00:09:23,040 Speaker 1: nineteen forty nine, she married Conrad Chisholm, who had emigrated 170 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:26,080 Speaker 1: to the United States from Jamaica. They moved into a 171 00:09:26,160 --> 00:09:30,080 Speaker 1: home near Shirley's parents. At first, they hoped to have children, 172 00:09:30,200 --> 00:09:33,560 Speaker 1: but Shirley had two miscarriages, and later on she said quote, 173 00:09:33,760 --> 00:09:36,160 Speaker 1: if I had children, I couldn't be out here doing 174 00:09:36,160 --> 00:09:39,280 Speaker 1: what I'm doing now. She also finished her master's degree 175 00:09:39,280 --> 00:09:42,559 Speaker 1: in nineteen fifty one. Shirley Chisholm had been active in 176 00:09:42,600 --> 00:09:46,680 Speaker 1: the seventeenth Assembly District Democratic Club since college, and in 177 00:09:46,760 --> 00:09:49,960 Speaker 1: ninety three she took part in her first political campaign, 178 00:09:50,800 --> 00:09:53,520 Speaker 1: a seat had opened up in the second Municipal Court, 179 00:09:53,559 --> 00:09:56,920 Speaker 1: which was local to where she lived. Chisholm worked with 180 00:09:56,920 --> 00:10:00,360 Speaker 1: the campaign to elect Louis S. Flag, Jr. Who became 181 00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:05,000 Speaker 1: Brooklyn's first black judge, which was a huge milestone. Campaign 182 00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:08,200 Speaker 1: workers tried to keep this momentum going by reforming the 183 00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:12,440 Speaker 1: Flag campaign into the Bedford Stuyvesant Political League or BSPL. 184 00:10:12,800 --> 00:10:16,040 Speaker 1: Chisholm became its vice president. Chisholm had noticed that in 185 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:19,480 Speaker 1: all the political organizations she was part of, women were 186 00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:23,080 Speaker 1: really active, but they were also relegated to tasks like 187 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:28,199 Speaker 1: preparing food, cleaning up and organizing events and raffles. Many 188 00:10:28,280 --> 00:10:32,440 Speaker 1: of the organizations were integrated, but essentially segregated themselves when 189 00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:36,080 Speaker 1: it came to things like seating arrangements. Chisholm thought all 190 00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:38,840 Speaker 1: of that needed to change, so she ran for president 191 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:42,840 Speaker 1: of the BSPL. This led to problems because her opponent 192 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:47,559 Speaker 1: was her long time mentor Mac Holder. She lost this election, 193 00:10:47,679 --> 00:10:50,040 Speaker 1: but the fact that she had run against him at 194 00:10:50,080 --> 00:10:53,400 Speaker 1: all led to a huge rift between the two of them. 195 00:10:53,440 --> 00:10:56,520 Speaker 1: In ninety eight, at the age of thirty four, Chisholm 196 00:10:56,600 --> 00:11:01,040 Speaker 1: left both the seventeenth Assembly District's Democratic Club, the BSPL, 197 00:11:01,160 --> 00:11:04,880 Speaker 1: feeling frustrated and like as a woman, she didn't have 198 00:11:05,120 --> 00:11:09,160 Speaker 1: any future and politics beyond canvassing and cleaning up after meetings. 199 00:11:09,679 --> 00:11:12,920 Speaker 1: In nineteen fifty nine, Chisholm became a consultant to the 200 00:11:12,960 --> 00:11:16,360 Speaker 1: New York City Division of Daycare, and in nineteen sixty 201 00:11:16,520 --> 00:11:20,280 Speaker 1: she returned to politics. She and several others who had 202 00:11:20,320 --> 00:11:23,880 Speaker 1: been part of the Flag campaign started the Unity Democratic Club, 203 00:11:24,200 --> 00:11:27,199 Speaker 1: which was racially integrated and which had women in many 204 00:11:27,280 --> 00:11:31,960 Speaker 1: prominent positions. This eased some of Chisholm's frustrations, but at 205 00:11:31,960 --> 00:11:34,600 Speaker 1: the same time, she was still doing a lot of 206 00:11:34,640 --> 00:11:37,640 Speaker 1: work campaigning for other people when what she really wanted 207 00:11:37,960 --> 00:11:40,600 Speaker 1: was to be the one running for office. So in 208 00:11:40,679 --> 00:11:44,280 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty four, Chisholm told the Unity Democrats that she 209 00:11:44,440 --> 00:11:48,440 Speaker 1: wanted to run for state representative. They nominated her, and 210 00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:52,760 Speaker 1: she won her first primary and general election. This wasn't, however, 211 00:11:52,920 --> 00:11:56,199 Speaker 1: one of her many political firsts. The first black woman 212 00:11:56,240 --> 00:11:59,480 Speaker 1: elected to the New York State Legislature was Bessie Buchanan 213 00:11:59,600 --> 00:12:04,439 Speaker 1: tens earlier. While a state legislator in Albany, Chisholm introduced 214 00:12:04,440 --> 00:12:08,120 Speaker 1: two major pieces of legislation that really illustrate what she 215 00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:11,440 Speaker 1: was trying to do in politics. The first set up 216 00:12:11,520 --> 00:12:16,720 Speaker 1: unemployment insurance and social security protections for personal and domestic workers. 217 00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:20,040 Speaker 1: This was something she'd seen a need for both from 218 00:12:20,040 --> 00:12:22,800 Speaker 1: her mother and from so many other working women in 219 00:12:22,840 --> 00:12:27,079 Speaker 1: their Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood. The second was the SEEK program, 220 00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:30,520 Speaker 1: which stands for Search for Education, Elevation and Knowledge, and 221 00:12:30,520 --> 00:12:32,360 Speaker 1: it was something she'd seen a need for during her 222 00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:36,720 Speaker 1: own education. The SEEK program identified black and Hispanic students 223 00:12:36,800 --> 00:12:39,360 Speaker 1: for both financial and academic aid to study at the 224 00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:42,040 Speaker 1: City University of New York or the State University of 225 00:12:42,080 --> 00:12:45,840 Speaker 1: New York. This program still exists today, and it works 226 00:12:45,880 --> 00:12:49,800 Speaker 1: to bridge the gap for financially and educationally underprivileged students. 227 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:53,400 Speaker 1: After a redistricting, Chisholm had to run for re election 228 00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:57,079 Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty five, even though her first term wasn't over. 229 00:12:57,880 --> 00:13:00,560 Speaker 1: She ran again in the regular election cycle in nineteen 230 00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:04,840 Speaker 1: sixty six and was once again reelected. Her other legislation 231 00:13:04,920 --> 00:13:08,040 Speaker 1: during those years as a state representative included funding for 232 00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:11,440 Speaker 1: daycare centers for the children of working women, and laws 233 00:13:11,480 --> 00:13:14,120 Speaker 1: to ensure that teachers didn't lose their seniority if they 234 00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:17,960 Speaker 1: went on maternity leave. She also advocated for the repeal 235 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:21,840 Speaker 1: of New York's laws criminalizing abortion, which happened in nineteen 236 00:13:21,880 --> 00:13:25,000 Speaker 1: seventy after she had left office. These years in the 237 00:13:25,040 --> 00:13:28,720 Speaker 1: state capital were really challenging for Chisholm. She spent about 238 00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:31,000 Speaker 1: five days a week in Albany while her husband was 239 00:13:31,040 --> 00:13:34,160 Speaker 1: at home in Brooklyn, and her father had also died 240 00:13:34,200 --> 00:13:37,199 Speaker 1: the year before she was elected. She and her father 241 00:13:37,280 --> 00:13:40,000 Speaker 1: had been very close, and a lot of her earliest 242 00:13:40,080 --> 00:13:43,720 Speaker 1: political opinions had been informed through discussions with him about 243 00:13:43,800 --> 00:13:48,120 Speaker 1: figures like Marcus Garvey. She had also become somewhat estranged 244 00:13:48,160 --> 00:13:51,280 Speaker 1: from her mother and sisters because she inherited her father's 245 00:13:51,280 --> 00:13:55,640 Speaker 1: money while they inherited the house. Her isolation in Albany 246 00:13:55,760 --> 00:13:58,960 Speaker 1: was professional as well as personal. There were only a 247 00:13:58,960 --> 00:14:01,640 Speaker 1: handful of women in the state legislature, and she was 248 00:14:01,679 --> 00:14:05,839 Speaker 1: the only black woman. It was socially unacceptable for women 249 00:14:05,880 --> 00:14:07,760 Speaker 1: to go out to bars, which is what most of 250 00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:10,200 Speaker 1: the men were doing. At the end of the day. 251 00:14:10,400 --> 00:14:13,320 Speaker 1: She frequently felt like she was being overlooked, and this 252 00:14:13,400 --> 00:14:15,640 Speaker 1: was a pattern in her political career, which would lead 253 00:14:15,679 --> 00:14:17,680 Speaker 1: her to say, quote, if they don't give you a 254 00:14:17,720 --> 00:14:20,960 Speaker 1: seat at the table, bring a folding chair. In nine 255 00:14:21,320 --> 00:14:25,440 Speaker 1: sixty eight, a court ordered reapportionment created a new congressional 256 00:14:25,480 --> 00:14:28,240 Speaker 1: district in New York and that was centered on Shirley 257 00:14:28,360 --> 00:14:33,360 Speaker 1: Chisholm's neighborhood of Bedford Stuyvesant. This newly created district was 258 00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:36,640 Speaker 1: majority black and it also had a large Puerto Rican population. 259 00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:40,440 Speaker 1: It was pretty much taken for granted that the representative 260 00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:43,640 Speaker 1: elected from this new district would be black, but it 261 00:14:43,680 --> 00:14:45,840 Speaker 1: was also pretty much taken for granted that it would 262 00:14:45,840 --> 00:14:50,120 Speaker 1: be a man. Twelve people announced their candidacy, and Chisholm 263 00:14:50,160 --> 00:14:53,280 Speaker 1: was the only woman. It was during this campaign that 264 00:14:53,360 --> 00:14:58,200 Speaker 1: Chisholm started using the slogan unbought and unbossed. She also 265 00:14:58,240 --> 00:15:00,760 Speaker 1: repaired her relationship with mack hole Older, who got in 266 00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:02,920 Speaker 1: touch and said that he wanted to be part of 267 00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:07,040 Speaker 1: her campaign. Chisholm one the Democratic primary in this election 268 00:15:07,080 --> 00:15:10,400 Speaker 1: by a huge margin, and then in the general election, 269 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:13,680 Speaker 1: her opponent was James Farmer, who was running on both 270 00:15:13,680 --> 00:15:18,280 Speaker 1: the Republican and Liberal Party tickets. Farmer was the former 271 00:15:18,320 --> 00:15:21,400 Speaker 1: head of the Congress of Racial Equality or CORE, as 272 00:15:21,440 --> 00:15:24,960 Speaker 1: well as one of its founders. He had also organized 273 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:28,240 Speaker 1: and participated in the Freedom rides, and he had a 274 00:15:28,360 --> 00:15:31,240 Speaker 1: whole lot of other people thought his election was a 275 00:15:31,280 --> 00:15:34,760 Speaker 1: sure thing. Chisholm and Farmer agreed on a lot of 276 00:15:34,760 --> 00:15:38,560 Speaker 1: their key issues. They had essentially the same talking points 277 00:15:38,560 --> 00:15:42,600 Speaker 1: on things like housing, employment, and education. Both of them 278 00:15:42,600 --> 00:15:46,520 Speaker 1: were also against the Vietnam War, so Farmer's campaign was 279 00:15:46,600 --> 00:15:50,600 Speaker 1: less about the issues and more about gender. He framed 280 00:15:50,680 --> 00:15:53,560 Speaker 1: himself as a powerful man whose voice was needed in 281 00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:59,080 Speaker 1: Washington and dismissed Chisholm as quote some school teacher. Farmer 282 00:15:59,280 --> 00:16:03,560 Speaker 1: wasn't the only person focused on gender and this During 283 00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:08,000 Speaker 1: the campaign, The New York Times ran this headline, Farmer 284 00:16:08,280 --> 00:16:12,520 Speaker 1: and woman in lively Bedford Stuyvesant Race. That makes me 285 00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:14,240 Speaker 1: kind of want to grind my teeth, but I'm gonna 286 00:16:14,320 --> 00:16:20,120 Speaker 1: keep going. Meanwhile, Chisholm and mac Holder worked day and 287 00:16:20,280 --> 00:16:24,000 Speaker 1: night to canvas in campaign. They pointed out that Farmer 288 00:16:24,040 --> 00:16:27,920 Speaker 1: lived in Harlem, not Brooklyn. Chisholm was fluent in Spanish 289 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:31,840 Speaker 1: and reached directly out to the district's Puerto Rican voters. 290 00:16:31,880 --> 00:16:33,920 Speaker 1: She emphasized all the work that she had done in 291 00:16:33,960 --> 00:16:38,920 Speaker 1: Albany that directly affected people in Brooklyn, especially women and women. 292 00:16:38,960 --> 00:16:43,000 Speaker 1: Registered voters outnumbered men as registered voters in the district 293 00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:46,000 Speaker 1: and the middle of all this, though, Chisholm developed a 294 00:16:46,040 --> 00:16:48,520 Speaker 1: fibroid tumor and she had to have surgery, so she 295 00:16:48,560 --> 00:16:51,840 Speaker 1: had to take a break from the campaign. Farmer started 296 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:54,600 Speaker 1: playing up her absence from the campaign trail until she 297 00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:58,160 Speaker 1: finally defied her doctor's orders. She went out on her 298 00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:00,640 Speaker 1: front steps with a bullhorn. This required her to walk 299 00:17:00,680 --> 00:17:04,600 Speaker 1: down several flights of steps first, and with this bullhorn 300 00:17:04,680 --> 00:17:08,000 Speaker 1: she said, ladies and gentlemen, this is fighting Shirley Chisholm, 301 00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:10,320 Speaker 1: and I am up and around in spite of what 302 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:15,320 Speaker 1: people are saying. On November five, Chisholm won the election 303 00:17:15,440 --> 00:17:19,000 Speaker 1: against James Farmer thirty four thousand, eight hundred eighty five 304 00:17:19,080 --> 00:17:23,560 Speaker 1: votes to thirteen thousand, seven hundred seventy seven. She became 305 00:17:23,600 --> 00:17:26,680 Speaker 1: the first black woman elected to Congress and only one 306 00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:30,280 Speaker 1: of ten women in Congress that year. The only other 307 00:17:30,320 --> 00:17:33,440 Speaker 1: woman of color was Patsy Mink of Hawaii, who was 308 00:17:33,560 --> 00:17:37,080 Speaker 1: Japanese American and the first woman of color elected to Congress. 309 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:42,040 Speaker 1: There were also only ten black legislators in Congress that year. 310 00:17:42,560 --> 00:17:45,439 Speaker 1: We will talk about her time as a representative and 311 00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:56,520 Speaker 1: her run for the presidency after another sponsor break. When 312 00:17:56,560 --> 00:17:59,639 Speaker 1: Shirley Chisholm took office as a US Representative from New 313 00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:03,479 Speaker 1: York Number one, she referred to herself as a black 314 00:18:03,560 --> 00:18:08,440 Speaker 1: woman congressman, which delights me. She also recognized the role 315 00:18:08,800 --> 00:18:11,639 Speaker 1: that women had played in getting her elected, and she 316 00:18:11,720 --> 00:18:15,280 Speaker 1: recognized the fact that women were largely being excluded from 317 00:18:15,320 --> 00:18:18,760 Speaker 1: Washington politics. So to try to start closing that gap 318 00:18:18,840 --> 00:18:21,840 Speaker 1: in her first term, she hired only women for her staff. 319 00:18:22,480 --> 00:18:24,600 Speaker 1: At the same time, she knew that as a junior 320 00:18:24,720 --> 00:18:28,280 Speaker 1: legislator she really needed experienced people to help her in 321 00:18:28,359 --> 00:18:30,359 Speaker 1: order to be effective, so a lot of the women 322 00:18:30,440 --> 00:18:33,440 Speaker 1: she hired had served on the staff of Joseph Resnick, 323 00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:36,920 Speaker 1: who had elected not to run for re election. Almost 324 00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:41,560 Speaker 1: immediately after being sworn in, Chisholm started breaking protocol. In Washington. 325 00:18:42,320 --> 00:18:45,840 Speaker 1: It was expected for junior legislators to basically listen and 326 00:18:45,880 --> 00:18:49,040 Speaker 1: not make waves. But when she got her committee assignment, 327 00:18:49,119 --> 00:18:52,040 Speaker 1: it was to the Rural Development and Forestry Committee of 328 00:18:52,040 --> 00:18:56,239 Speaker 1: the Agriculture Committee. This was completely outside her experience and 329 00:18:56,280 --> 00:19:00,000 Speaker 1: also not particularly relevant to her constituents back in Brooklyn, 330 00:19:00,080 --> 00:19:03,760 Speaker 1: New York. She thought this was ridiculous, and she tried 331 00:19:03,840 --> 00:19:07,320 Speaker 1: to be recognized to speak to protest it, but every 332 00:19:07,359 --> 00:19:10,680 Speaker 1: time she stood up, a more senior representative would stand 333 00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:14,040 Speaker 1: up and be called on. Finally, she walked down to 334 00:19:14,080 --> 00:19:17,400 Speaker 1: the well at the floor of the House and when 335 00:19:17,440 --> 00:19:19,600 Speaker 1: asked what she was doing down there, she said, quote, 336 00:19:19,600 --> 00:19:22,000 Speaker 1: I've been trying to get recognized for half an hour, 337 00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:25,080 Speaker 1: Mr Chairman, but evidently you were unable to see me, 338 00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:27,760 Speaker 1: so I came down to the well. I would just 339 00:19:27,800 --> 00:19:30,320 Speaker 1: like to tell the caucus why I vehemently reject my 340 00:19:30,320 --> 00:19:35,200 Speaker 1: committee assignment. This was really unheard of. It was not 341 00:19:35,240 --> 00:19:38,399 Speaker 1: done among junior legislators, especially to do something like this. 342 00:19:38,480 --> 00:19:41,600 Speaker 1: But she was ultimately reassigned to the Veterans Affairs Committee. 343 00:19:42,119 --> 00:19:45,320 Speaker 1: This was definitely not her first choice, but it was 344 00:19:45,400 --> 00:19:47,240 Speaker 1: at least a place where she felt like she could 345 00:19:47,240 --> 00:19:50,800 Speaker 1: serve her constituents because there were plenty of veterans living 346 00:19:50,800 --> 00:19:56,800 Speaker 1: in Brooklyn. From there, Chisholm continued to take bold, uncompromising steps. 347 00:19:56,800 --> 00:19:59,320 Speaker 1: Her first speech in the House was anti war, and 348 00:19:59,359 --> 00:20:02,320 Speaker 1: she announced the she would vote no on every budget 349 00:20:02,359 --> 00:20:05,639 Speaker 1: bill until the country started using its resources quote for 350 00:20:05,840 --> 00:20:09,560 Speaker 1: people and peace, not profits in war. She also faced 351 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:12,639 Speaker 1: a lot of sexism like questions about what her husband 352 00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:15,520 Speaker 1: thought about what she was doing, in a very like 353 00:20:16,440 --> 00:20:22,720 Speaker 1: what does your husband think of all this? Darling. In 354 00:20:22,840 --> 00:20:26,119 Speaker 1: July of nineteen seventy, during hearings on a House anti 355 00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:31,080 Speaker 1: discrimination measure, Chisholm said quote, during my entire political life, 356 00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:34,439 Speaker 1: my sex has been a far greater handicap than my 357 00:20:34,520 --> 00:20:39,240 Speaker 1: skin pigmentation. From my earliest experience in ward political activity, 358 00:20:39,320 --> 00:20:42,080 Speaker 1: my chief obstacle was that I had to break through 359 00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:45,720 Speaker 1: the role men assigned women. A young woman in a 360 00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:49,639 Speaker 1: newspaper story I read somewhere defined that role beautifully. She 361 00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:53,520 Speaker 1: was talking about her experiences in the civil rights movement. Quote, 362 00:20:53,840 --> 00:20:56,480 Speaker 1: we found that the men made the policy and the 363 00:20:56,560 --> 00:20:59,520 Speaker 1: women made the peanut butter sandwiches. I would like to 364 00:20:59,520 --> 00:21:01,440 Speaker 1: comment on the quote really quickly before we move on, 365 00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:05,359 Speaker 1: because a lot of people take this out of context 366 00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:09,440 Speaker 1: and try to make it be a statement that in general, 367 00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:14,359 Speaker 1: in the world, gender is a bigger issue than race, 368 00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:17,199 Speaker 1: and that's really not what she was saying. She was 369 00:21:17,320 --> 00:21:21,959 Speaker 1: confining this to her political life very clearly, not like 370 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:26,359 Speaker 1: a blanket statement about which thing, being a woman or 371 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:30,720 Speaker 1: being black is harder. Chisholm's agenda in Congress was ambitious, 372 00:21:30,760 --> 00:21:33,919 Speaker 1: but it wasn't naive. She wanted more programs for the 373 00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:38,439 Speaker 1: poor and unemployed, more support for education, more funding for 374 00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:42,400 Speaker 1: health care, and protections for civil rights. She helped form 375 00:21:42,480 --> 00:21:46,840 Speaker 1: the Congressional Black Caucus and later the Congresswoman's Caucus, which 376 00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:52,360 Speaker 1: is now the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues. On August tventy, 377 00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:55,800 Speaker 1: she reintroduced the Equal Rights Amendment, which was passed by 378 00:21:55,840 --> 00:22:00,320 Speaker 1: Congress on March ninety two, but was not rat deified 379 00:22:00,359 --> 00:22:03,840 Speaker 1: by the states. That could be a whole other podcast, 380 00:22:03,960 --> 00:22:06,159 Speaker 1: and maybe will be at some point in the future. 381 00:22:07,320 --> 00:22:09,800 Speaker 1: When Chisum ran for re election in nineteen seventy she 382 00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:12,960 Speaker 1: won eighty two percent of the vote. That in nineteen 383 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:16,360 Speaker 1: seventy one, she published her autobiography, which was titled Unbought 384 00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:20,080 Speaker 1: and Unbossed. By the time Unbought and Unbossed came out, 385 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:24,080 Speaker 1: Chisholm had already been thinking about running for president. In 386 00:22:24,119 --> 00:22:26,879 Speaker 1: November of nineteen seventy two, she told her staff that 387 00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:30,280 Speaker 1: she planned to run. That same year, she was appointed 388 00:22:30,280 --> 00:22:32,840 Speaker 1: to the Education and Labor Committee, which had been one 389 00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:35,800 Speaker 1: of her top choices when she was first elected. Chisum 390 00:22:35,840 --> 00:22:39,479 Speaker 1: announced her intention to run for president on January nine 391 00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:43,800 Speaker 1: seventy two at Conquered Baptist Church in Brooklyn, and her 392 00:22:43,840 --> 00:22:46,320 Speaker 1: speech she said, quote, I am not the candidate of 393 00:22:46,320 --> 00:22:49,520 Speaker 1: Black America, although I am black and proud. I am 394 00:22:49,560 --> 00:22:52,000 Speaker 1: not the candidate of the women's movement of this country, 395 00:22:52,040 --> 00:22:54,320 Speaker 1: although I am a woman and I am equally proud 396 00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:56,919 Speaker 1: of that. I am the candidate of the people, and 397 00:22:56,960 --> 00:23:00,399 Speaker 1: my presence before you now symbolizes a new era an 398 00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:04,800 Speaker 1: American political history. With this announcement, Chisholm became the first 399 00:23:04,840 --> 00:23:07,919 Speaker 1: black woman to seek the nomination of the Democratic Party. 400 00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:11,119 Speaker 1: Sometimes you'll see her listed as the first woman of 401 00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:14,240 Speaker 1: any race to seek the nomination for any major political party, 402 00:23:14,240 --> 00:23:17,600 Speaker 1: but that is not accurate. Margaret Chase Smith ran for 403 00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:21,040 Speaker 1: president as a Republican in nineteen sixty four and had 404 00:23:21,040 --> 00:23:25,480 Speaker 1: twenty seven delegates at the Republican National Convention. Patsy Mink, 405 00:23:25,520 --> 00:23:28,280 Speaker 1: who we mentioned earlier, also ran as a Democrat in 406 00:23:28,359 --> 00:23:32,399 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy two. She had been invited by Oregon Democrats 407 00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:34,560 Speaker 1: to run on their ballot to draw attention to the 408 00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:37,840 Speaker 1: movement against the Vietnam War, and she withdrew after the 409 00:23:37,840 --> 00:23:41,280 Speaker 1: Oregon primary. This has been described as more of a 410 00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:44,679 Speaker 1: symbolic campaign, but it still counts as it happened in 411 00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:47,240 Speaker 1: her run for Congress, Chisum faced all kinds of sexism. 412 00:23:47,280 --> 00:23:51,520 Speaker 1: While running for president, Walter Cronkite started a news broadcast 413 00:23:51,520 --> 00:23:55,040 Speaker 1: and about her candidacy by saying a new hat, rather 414 00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:58,199 Speaker 1: a bonnet, has been thrown into the ring. She was 415 00:23:58,240 --> 00:24:00,960 Speaker 1: also excluded from televised to eights and took her case 416 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:04,080 Speaker 1: to court, at which point the FCC ordered that she 417 00:24:04,200 --> 00:24:07,119 Speaker 1: be invited to debate as well. And it wasn't just 418 00:24:07,280 --> 00:24:11,880 Speaker 1: gendered language and exclusion from debates. At least three confirmed 419 00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:16,720 Speaker 1: assassination threats were made against Chisholm during the campaign. Someone 420 00:24:16,800 --> 00:24:19,639 Speaker 1: stole stationary from one of her opponents and typed up 421 00:24:19,640 --> 00:24:23,760 Speaker 1: a terribly spelled, badly written press release claiming that she 422 00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:27,399 Speaker 1: had been in a mental institution. This release went on 423 00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:31,240 Speaker 1: with a whole series of completely fabricated claims and led 424 00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:35,600 Speaker 1: to an FBI investigation. As there was obviously racism and 425 00:24:35,760 --> 00:24:39,760 Speaker 1: sexism all tied together in the response to her campaign. 426 00:24:40,240 --> 00:24:42,840 Speaker 1: But in this campaign, Chisum really hoped to build a 427 00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:47,480 Speaker 1: coalition among anyone who was disenfranchised or marginalized, not just 428 00:24:47,560 --> 00:24:50,879 Speaker 1: black people and not just women. She was also vocal 429 00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:53,720 Speaker 1: in her support of equal rights for Hispanics and Latinos, 430 00:24:53,720 --> 00:24:56,320 Speaker 1: as well as gay people and Indigenous people. She had 431 00:24:56,320 --> 00:24:58,879 Speaker 1: called to have a Native person leading the Department of 432 00:24:58,880 --> 00:25:02,959 Speaker 1: the Interior, wh oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and 433 00:25:03,040 --> 00:25:06,320 Speaker 1: she did get a lot of grassroots support. Many of 434 00:25:06,359 --> 00:25:08,840 Speaker 1: the people who worked on her campaign were first time 435 00:25:08,880 --> 00:25:12,479 Speaker 1: participants in this process. Whenever people asked her what they 436 00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:14,680 Speaker 1: needed to do to get involved, she would tell them 437 00:25:14,680 --> 00:25:17,479 Speaker 1: the first thing was to register to vote, and this 438 00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:19,720 Speaker 1: was just a few years after the Voting Rights Act 439 00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:23,720 Speaker 1: of nineteen sixty five outlawed voting discrimination based on race. 440 00:25:24,280 --> 00:25:26,959 Speaker 1: But her efforts on the campaign were really hampered by 441 00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:30,480 Speaker 1: a lack of money and by disorganization from within the campaign. 442 00:25:31,119 --> 00:25:34,600 Speaker 1: She had some high profile celebrity backers like Harry Belafante 443 00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:38,760 Speaker 1: and Ascie Davis, but other people weren't as enthusiastic even 444 00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:42,320 Speaker 1: when they said they were on her side. Gloria steinhum 445 00:25:42,480 --> 00:25:45,080 Speaker 1: ran as one of her delegates in the New York primary, 446 00:25:45,119 --> 00:25:48,600 Speaker 1: but kept doing this kind of halfhearted endorsement, saying that 447 00:25:48,640 --> 00:25:52,119 Speaker 1: she was for surely Chisholm, but thought George McGovern was 448 00:25:52,160 --> 00:25:55,000 Speaker 1: the best of the male candidates. Tis Um finally told 449 00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:58,320 Speaker 1: her to either endorse McGovern or her not do this 450 00:25:58,400 --> 00:26:01,239 Speaker 1: weird in between things, and she said, quote, don't do 451 00:26:01,320 --> 00:26:04,480 Speaker 1: me any favors by giving me this semi endorsement. I 452 00:26:04,560 --> 00:26:07,639 Speaker 1: do not need this kind of help. She also faced 453 00:26:07,680 --> 00:26:11,320 Speaker 1: criticism after candidate George Wallace was shot on May fifteen, 454 00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:15,439 Speaker 1: nineteen two. We've done a podcast on Wallace before, in 455 00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:17,919 Speaker 1: case you needed any of that story. Uh. He was 456 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:21,640 Speaker 1: notorious for his views on segregation and race, although during 457 00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:25,480 Speaker 1: this campaign he announced that he would no longer support segregation. 458 00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:29,440 Speaker 1: Chisholm visited him in the hospital and people were appalled, 459 00:26:29,920 --> 00:26:32,440 Speaker 1: but she felt like visiting was just the humane thing 460 00:26:32,520 --> 00:26:34,760 Speaker 1: to do, and she told him, quote, you and I 461 00:26:34,840 --> 00:26:37,440 Speaker 1: don't agree, but you have been shot and I might 462 00:26:37,480 --> 00:26:40,440 Speaker 1: be shot, and we are both children of American democracy, 463 00:26:40,760 --> 00:26:43,399 Speaker 1: so I wanted to come and see you. The Democratic 464 00:26:43,480 --> 00:26:46,320 Speaker 1: National Convention that year started on July temp and by 465 00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:48,880 Speaker 1: that time it was absolutely clear that there was no 466 00:26:48,960 --> 00:26:52,520 Speaker 1: way Chisholm was going to get the party's nomination. Instead, 467 00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:55,439 Speaker 1: she hoped to have enough delegates to influence the party 468 00:26:55,480 --> 00:26:58,680 Speaker 1: platform that would be created at the convention. She wound 469 00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:00,800 Speaker 1: up with a hundred and fifty two delegates, which was 470 00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:03,280 Speaker 1: about ten percent of the total after being on the 471 00:27:03,320 --> 00:27:06,359 Speaker 1: ballot in twelve states. That was more than some of 472 00:27:06,359 --> 00:27:09,280 Speaker 1: the other candidates, but not enough to have an impact 473 00:27:09,320 --> 00:27:12,320 Speaker 1: on the party platform or her much bigger goal of 474 00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:15,720 Speaker 1: naming a black candidate as the vice presidential running mate. 475 00:27:16,200 --> 00:27:19,200 Speaker 1: She was also really disillusioned by how the process felt 476 00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:21,680 Speaker 1: more like it was about candidates making deals with one 477 00:27:21,680 --> 00:27:25,000 Speaker 1: another for their delegates than it was about candidates trying 478 00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:27,960 Speaker 1: to do right by the voters. But a more personal 479 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:31,439 Speaker 1: disappointment was that her friend and colleague Ron Delum's of 480 00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:34,840 Speaker 1: the Congressional Black Caucus, was supposed to be the person 481 00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:38,000 Speaker 1: to nominate her at the convention, but he backed out 482 00:27:38,040 --> 00:27:41,600 Speaker 1: at the last minute. Her friend Percy Sutton did it instead. 483 00:27:42,600 --> 00:27:45,480 Speaker 1: On the last night of the convention, Shirley Chisholm gave 484 00:27:45,480 --> 00:27:47,639 Speaker 1: a speech and which she said she would support the 485 00:27:47,680 --> 00:27:51,960 Speaker 1: Democratic Party nominee George McGovern, But before she could give 486 00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:55,680 Speaker 1: that speech, she got a lengthy standing ovation. Even though 487 00:27:55,760 --> 00:27:58,960 Speaker 1: there were so many disappointments at the Democratic National Convention, 488 00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:02,040 Speaker 1: Chisholm and assisted that she did not regret her decision 489 00:28:02,080 --> 00:28:05,520 Speaker 1: to run. She said, I ran because somebody had to 490 00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:08,240 Speaker 1: do it first. I ran because most people thought the 491 00:28:08,240 --> 00:28:11,200 Speaker 1: country was not ready for a black candidate, not ready 492 00:28:11,240 --> 00:28:15,040 Speaker 1: for a woman candidate. Someday, it was time in nineteen 493 00:28:15,080 --> 00:28:18,600 Speaker 1: seventy two to make that someday come. Later on, she 494 00:28:18,680 --> 00:28:21,679 Speaker 1: described her candidacy as not exactly opening the door for 495 00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:24,639 Speaker 1: other women and people of color, but at least leaving 496 00:28:24,640 --> 00:28:28,080 Speaker 1: the door ajar. In the nineteen seventy two election, George 497 00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:32,760 Speaker 1: McGovern was defeated colossally by incumbent Richard Nixon, and just 498 00:28:32,920 --> 00:28:38,800 Speaker 1: a huge landslide, like an unmatched landslide. We all know 499 00:28:38,840 --> 00:28:42,200 Speaker 1: how that worked out. Though, Chisholm returned to her seat 500 00:28:42,320 --> 00:28:44,880 Speaker 1: in the House of Representatives and she spent seven total 501 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:47,600 Speaker 1: terms in the House. In nineteen seventy five, she co 502 00:28:47,760 --> 00:28:51,000 Speaker 1: sponsored a bill to expand the federal school lunch program, 503 00:28:51,040 --> 00:28:54,320 Speaker 1: and then she led the representatives to overturn President Gerald 504 00:28:54,360 --> 00:28:57,640 Speaker 1: Ford's veto of it. In nineteen seventy seven, she also 505 00:28:57,720 --> 00:28:59,720 Speaker 1: became part of the House Rules Committee. She was the 506 00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:02,200 Speaker 1: first black woman to be on that committee. In her 507 00:29:02,200 --> 00:29:06,920 Speaker 1: personal life, she and Conrad Chisom divorced in nineteen seventy seven, 508 00:29:07,080 --> 00:29:10,440 Speaker 1: and she remarried Arthur Hardwick Jr. Who lived in Buffalo, 509 00:29:10,920 --> 00:29:13,920 Speaker 1: and her later terms in the House of Representatives, Chisholm 510 00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:16,440 Speaker 1: didn't defy protocol in the way she had in her 511 00:29:16,480 --> 00:29:19,920 Speaker 1: first and over the years the shift started to draw 512 00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:23,600 Speaker 1: more and more scrutiny. What she saw as an attempt 513 00:29:23,680 --> 00:29:27,320 Speaker 1: for consensus building was seen as being too conciliatory and 514 00:29:27,400 --> 00:29:31,640 Speaker 1: not ambitious enough. She was also criticized for increasing time 515 00:29:31,680 --> 00:29:34,360 Speaker 1: away from Washington. Some of this was to go on 516 00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:36,600 Speaker 1: speaking tours, and some of it was to be with 517 00:29:36,600 --> 00:29:40,080 Speaker 1: her second husband after he was permanently and seriously injured 518 00:29:40,080 --> 00:29:43,320 Speaker 1: in a car accident. All of this influenced her decision 519 00:29:43,520 --> 00:29:47,040 Speaker 1: not to seek re election in nineteen two, but she 520 00:29:47,120 --> 00:29:49,680 Speaker 1: was also frustrated by feeling like she was less and 521 00:29:49,760 --> 00:29:53,400 Speaker 1: less able to really serve her constituents. Some of this 522 00:29:53,560 --> 00:29:55,880 Speaker 1: was due to the shifting political climate of the late 523 00:29:55,920 --> 00:29:59,800 Speaker 1: nineteen seventies and early nineteen eighties. Her career had really 524 00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:03,040 Speaker 1: been focused on helping the needy and protecting the marginalized, 525 00:30:03,520 --> 00:30:07,440 Speaker 1: things like an increased minimum wage, unions for domestic workers, 526 00:30:07,800 --> 00:30:11,480 Speaker 1: racial equality, gay rights, and daycare for working mothers and 527 00:30:11,520 --> 00:30:15,040 Speaker 1: people on public assistance, but it was harder and harder 528 00:30:15,080 --> 00:30:18,320 Speaker 1: to get legislation like that past. On top of that, 529 00:30:18,400 --> 00:30:21,640 Speaker 1: for a number of economic and social reasons, voters in 530 00:30:21,720 --> 00:30:25,160 Speaker 1: her district and in similar districts all around the country 531 00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:29,160 Speaker 1: were becoming less and less engaged and politically active, and 532 00:30:29,240 --> 00:30:31,280 Speaker 1: that was making it a lot more difficult for her 533 00:30:31,320 --> 00:30:35,240 Speaker 1: to secure federal funds that would benefit them. After retiring 534 00:30:35,280 --> 00:30:39,600 Speaker 1: from politics, Chisholm became Sherrington Professor of Politics at Mount 535 00:30:39,640 --> 00:30:43,800 Speaker 1: Holyoke College in Massachusetts. She commuted back and forth between 536 00:30:43,800 --> 00:30:46,520 Speaker 1: the college and Buffalo, where she and her husband lived, 537 00:30:46,960 --> 00:30:49,960 Speaker 1: and she helped found the National Political Congress of Black Women, 538 00:30:50,120 --> 00:30:52,840 Speaker 1: and she worked on Jesse Jackson's campaign for the presidency. 539 00:30:53,320 --> 00:31:00,920 Speaker 1: In four and her husband, Arthur, died in three Shirley 540 00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:04,280 Speaker 1: Chisholm was offered the position of ambassador to Jamaica, but 541 00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:06,920 Speaker 1: she turned it down because her health was not good anymore. 542 00:31:07,480 --> 00:31:10,040 Speaker 1: She died on January one of two thousand five at 543 00:31:10,040 --> 00:31:14,320 Speaker 1: the age of eighty, and November of President Barack Obama 544 00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:18,480 Speaker 1: posthumously awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Later on 545 00:31:18,600 --> 00:31:20,320 Speaker 1: in her life, she said that she didn't want to 546 00:31:20,320 --> 00:31:22,720 Speaker 1: be remembered just as a member of Congress or a 547 00:31:22,760 --> 00:31:26,240 Speaker 1: candidate for president, but as in her own words, a 548 00:31:26,320 --> 00:31:30,080 Speaker 1: woman who fought for change in the twentieth century, and 549 00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:33,600 Speaker 1: that is Shirley Chisholm. Do you also have listener mail. 550 00:31:34,080 --> 00:31:37,360 Speaker 1: I do have listener mail. This is from Thomas and 551 00:31:37,560 --> 00:31:40,400 Speaker 1: it is going all the way back to our Magnus 552 00:31:40,480 --> 00:31:43,800 Speaker 1: Hirshfeld episode. I know that was a while ago. We 553 00:31:43,840 --> 00:31:47,520 Speaker 1: have been recording lots of extra episodes to accommodate our 554 00:31:48,160 --> 00:31:51,520 Speaker 1: tour of the West Coast, which I think by the 555 00:31:51,560 --> 00:31:55,600 Speaker 1: time this episode comes out will have already happened. But 556 00:31:56,320 --> 00:31:58,920 Speaker 1: Thomas says, dear Holly and Tracy, thank you for the 557 00:31:58,960 --> 00:32:01,479 Speaker 1: episode on Magnus hersh Field, which I really enjoyed despite 558 00:32:01,480 --> 00:32:05,000 Speaker 1: the tragic ending. There is one extra tragic coda to 559 00:32:05,040 --> 00:32:07,280 Speaker 1: the fate of gay men in the Holocaust. If they 560 00:32:07,280 --> 00:32:11,000 Speaker 1: managed to survive the concentration camps, some were then made 561 00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:14,520 Speaker 1: to finish their sentences after the war by the occupying allies. 562 00:32:14,640 --> 00:32:17,520 Speaker 1: I can't even begin to imagine how those poor souls 563 00:32:17,640 --> 00:32:20,160 Speaker 1: must have felt, knowing they were still not going to 564 00:32:20,200 --> 00:32:22,960 Speaker 1: be freed. I think it's pretty little known even today 565 00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:26,120 Speaker 1: that that happened. A link to the US Holocaust Museums 566 00:32:26,240 --> 00:32:29,320 Speaker 1: article on this. Keep up the good work, especially covering 567 00:32:29,400 --> 00:32:32,440 Speaker 1: LGBT history, which even now is barely a footnote in 568 00:32:32,480 --> 00:32:35,920 Speaker 1: many school curriculums. Kind regards, Thomas, thank you so much 569 00:32:35,960 --> 00:32:38,280 Speaker 1: for this note, Thomas, I did not know that, and 570 00:32:38,320 --> 00:32:42,160 Speaker 1: I won't say it was surprising, because it's not. But 571 00:32:42,360 --> 00:32:46,000 Speaker 1: it was an upsetting enough idea that I was like, 572 00:32:46,080 --> 00:32:48,000 Speaker 1: let me go research this and make sure that this 573 00:32:48,040 --> 00:32:51,120 Speaker 1: is correct before we say it on the show. And 574 00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:53,400 Speaker 1: it is. So. What happened, as we said at the 575 00:32:53,480 --> 00:32:56,120 Speaker 1: end of the Mangus Heirshfeld episode, is that a lot 576 00:32:56,440 --> 00:33:00,280 Speaker 1: of gay men were arrested while the Nazis were in power, 577 00:33:00,360 --> 00:33:02,880 Speaker 1: and many of them were sent to concentration camps. Then 578 00:33:02,920 --> 00:33:07,120 Speaker 1: when the concentration camps were liberated, a lot of these 579 00:33:07,160 --> 00:33:12,280 Speaker 1: men had been convicted of violating the anti homosexuality laws 580 00:33:12,440 --> 00:33:16,440 Speaker 1: in Germany and they were put into regular prisons to 581 00:33:16,560 --> 00:33:20,080 Speaker 1: finish out their sentences, even though they had been in 582 00:33:20,080 --> 00:33:22,680 Speaker 1: this concentration camp for a period of years. So like 583 00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:26,160 Speaker 1: a lot of them were returned to other prisons afterward 584 00:33:26,720 --> 00:33:30,400 Speaker 1: um to basically serve out the sentence they had originally 585 00:33:30,440 --> 00:33:38,880 Speaker 1: been given after being convicted, which is indeed horrifying. Um So, 586 00:33:38,920 --> 00:33:40,680 Speaker 1: I know that's a very down er place to end 587 00:33:40,760 --> 00:33:42,680 Speaker 1: this episode, but I felt like it was an important 588 00:33:42,720 --> 00:33:46,600 Speaker 1: piece of additional information to include. If you would like 589 00:33:46,640 --> 00:33:48,520 Speaker 1: to write to us about this or any other podcast 590 00:33:48,640 --> 00:33:50,800 Speaker 1: or history podcasts at how stuff works dot com. And 591 00:33:50,840 --> 00:33:53,200 Speaker 1: then we were also all over social media at missed 592 00:33:53,200 --> 00:33:55,320 Speaker 1: in History. That is where you will find our Facebook, 593 00:33:55,320 --> 00:33:58,800 Speaker 1: our Pinterest, our Twitter, and our Instagram. You can come 594 00:33:58,800 --> 00:34:01,200 Speaker 1: to our website, which is miss history dot com and 595 00:34:01,400 --> 00:34:04,840 Speaker 1: you can find a searchable archive of every episode Holly 596 00:34:04,960 --> 00:34:07,600 Speaker 1: or every episode ever of the show, as well as 597 00:34:07,600 --> 00:34:09,400 Speaker 1: show notes for all the episodes Holly and I have 598 00:34:09,480 --> 00:34:12,400 Speaker 1: worked on together. And you can subscribe to our show 599 00:34:12,640 --> 00:34:16,000 Speaker 1: on Apple podcasts or Google podcasts, basically wherever it is 600 00:34:16,040 --> 00:34:23,480 Speaker 1: that you're listening to this podcast. For more on this 601 00:34:23,640 --> 00:34:32,480 Speaker 1: and thousands of other topics, visit how staff works dot com.