Shirley Chisholm in Her Own Words: Speeches and Writings

Congresswoman Chisolm’s words, edited and introduced by Fraser (Africana studies and women’s and gender studies, Brooklyn Coll.; director of the Shirley Chisholm Project on Brooklyn Women’s Activism) feel remarkably fresh and particularly relevant, even though they were written 50 years ago. Chisolm, the first Black woman in Congress and the first woman and Black person to seek the U.S. presidential nomination, was the child of immigrant parents. Born in Brooklyn, Chisolm spent her youth in Barbados, returned to Brooklyn and graduated from Brooklyn College, after which she worked as a nursery schoolteacher before pivoting into politics and becoming one of New York’s representatives to Congress. The book covers areas of major concern to Chisolm, including education, criminal justice, colonialism, racism, women’s rights, abortion, and student revolts. Contents include “The Day Care Dilemma,” “Racism and Polarization,” “Facing the Abortion Question,” and “Progress Through Understanding.”