First Black Congresswoman: Shirley Chisholm

Shirley Chisholm was the first African-American congresswoman elected in 1968.

Chisholm, a Brooklyn, New York native, had an ambitious political career that led her to landmark many firsts in black history as a Black woman in America.  She represented New York for seven terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Her political career continued to flourish when she focused her attention on the presidency. Chisholm ran for the presidential democratic nomination  in 1972 and became the first major-party black candidate to make bid.

Her political agenda dealt mostly with education and social justice, which she was passionate about since she had begun and ended her career as an educator. She not only worked as a politician, but also as the director of the Hamilton-Madison Child Care Center. In addition, she was the educational consultant for New York City’s Bureau of Child Welfare, extending her career into her passions for children and education.

Source: Biography