Shirley Chisholm

Shirley Chisholm was an American educator and Democratic politician who represented Brooklyn in the U.S. House from 1969 to 1983. Elected in 1968, she became the first Black woman to serve in Congress and helped found the Congressional Black Caucus. In 1972, she became the first Black candidate to seek a major party’s presidential nomination, extending her advocacy for racial and gender equality onto the national stage.