From the pages of AMPS Magazine, the story of Shirley Chisholm is not simply a political biography — it is a declaration of power. A declaration that Black women would no longer wait their turn. A declaration that Black voices belonged at the highest tables of decision-making in America.
Born in 1924 in Brooklyn, New York, to immigrant parents from Barbados and Guyana, Chisholm understood early the value of discipline, education, and cultural pride. She spent part of her childhood in Barbados, where she credited the island’s strict educational system for sharpening her intellect and confidence. Returning to Brooklyn, she excelled
academically, later becoming a teacher and educational consultant. But education alone was not enough for Shirley Chisholm — she wanted systemic change.
When she was elected to Congress in 1968, becoming the first Black woman to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, she did more than win a seat. She shifted the narrative. Representing Brooklyn, she carried the concerns of working-class families, women, and marginalized communities directly into the halls of power. Her very presence in Congress was revolutionary.
Chisholm co-founded both the Congressional Black Caucus and the National Women’s Political Caucus in 1971, ensuring that Black Americans and women would have organized political muscle in Washington. She understood something critical: representation without strategy is symbolism. She wanted both.
Her 1972 presidential run was seismic. As the first Black candidate to seek a major party’s nomination and the first woman to run for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, Chisholm stepped into a political arena that was openly hostile to both her race and her gender. She was blocked from televised debates. She faced racism from white politicians and sexism from men across the political spectrum — including some within her own community. Yet she pressed forward under her now-famous slogan: “Unbought and Unbossed.”
That phrase was more than a campaign motto; it was a cultural statement for Black people. It meant independence. It meant refusing to be controlled by party bosses, donors, or social expectations. It told “colored people,” as they were often labeled at the time, that they did not have to ask permission to lead. It told Black women that they did not have to shrink themselves to be accepted.
Chisholm often said she faced more discrimination for being a woman than for being Black. That insight illuminated the double barriers Black women navigate — racism and sexism intertwined. By daring to run for president, she shattered psychological ceilings. She proved that ambition was not arrogance; it was liberation.
Legislatively, Chisholm was relentless. She fought for education funding, labor protections, and expanded access to childcare. She played a significant role in strengthening the WIC program (Women, Infants, and Children), directly impacting generations of low-income families. Her work reflected her roots as an educator — she believed opportunity should begin at birth.
In 2015, she was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, but her real reward lives in every Black woman who runs for office without apology. Shirley Chisholm’s greatest statement to Black culture was simple yet radical: We belong everywhere decisions are made. And we will not be bought, bossed, or silenced.
That is legacy. That is power. That is Shirley Chisholm.
