About Me:

[Shirley Chisholm]

• Born: November 30, 1924 in Brooklyn, New York, United States

• Died: 2005 in Ormond Beach, Florida, United States

• Nationality: American

• Occupation: Congressional representative (U.S. federal government

I attended school throughout my life. I went to a local schools, and for  college I went to Brooklyn college.
During college I decided to become a teacher. My political awareness came from mostly my father, but also the Harriet Tubman Society that I had joined. I graduated in the early 1940s, and went on to being a teacher for several years at a child care center in New York City. I then went to school for my masters for teaching at Columbia University. While I was studying at Columbia, I met my husband Conrad Chisholm. In 1960 I became involved in my first political campaign to elect a black lawyer. I decided to run for the 17th District representative seat. In 1964 I finally won and served on the New York legislature for the next four years. I became an effective lawmaker and had a good reputation. I then decided to run against William Thompson, for the 12th District representative seat. I served on the Veterans' Affairs Committee, the Education and Labor Committee, and the influential House Rules Committee. I became the first black woman to seek a major political party nomination for the presidency. I married Andrew Hardwick and retired from public office in 1982.

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