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Shirley Chisholm Facts & Worksheets

Shirley Chisholm was a politician, educator and writer. She was the first African-American candidate to make a bid to become U.S. President, and the first African-American woman to be elected as a U.S. congresswoman.

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Shirley Chisholm was the first African-American woman elected to the United States Congress. For seven years, beginning in 1969, she was the representative of New York’s 12th congressional district. She was also the first black woman to be nominated for president by a major party.

See the fact file below for more information on Shirley Chisholm, or alternatively, you can download our comprehensive worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Facts & Information

Early Life

  • Shirley Anita St. Hill, of Guyanese and Bajan ancestry, was born in Brooklyn on November 30, 1924. Her father, British Guiana native Charles Christopher St. Hill, and mother, Christ Church Barbados native Ruby Seale, were both immigrants to New York City.
  • Her father was a factory worker and a helper in a bakery while her mother was a seamstress and domestic worker. Her parents’ jobs made it difficult for them, particularly her mother, to balance work and caring for her and her siblings. The St. Hill’s children were sent to their maternal grandmother in Barbados in November 1929.
  • She attended a one-room schoolhouse in the Vauxhall village of Christ Church, where she was cared for by her grandmother.
  • In 1934, she returned to New York with her West Indian accent as a result of her stay in Barbados.
  • Shirley began attending Bedford-Stuyvesant Girls’ High School in 1939. It was a well-known and highly regarded integrated school. Her school performance was outstanding, and she was elected vice president of the Junior Arista honor society.
  • Scholarships were offered to her at Vassar College and Oberlin College. Her family could not afford to board, so she attended Brooklyn College instead. At Brooklyn College, she had no tuition fee to pay, and she could commute to school from their house.
  • She joined the Delta Sigma Theta sorority at Brooklyn College. She also joined the Harriet Tubman Society, where she advocated for inclusion, the addition of Black history courses, and women’s involvement in student government.
  • She graduated from Brooklyn College in 1946 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology and a minor in Spanish. Her debating skills were awarded aside from graduating cum laude.
  • After graduating from college, she worked at Mt. Calvary Child Care Center in Harlem. There, she met Conrad O. Chisholm, who would later become her husband.
  • She married Chisholm in a West Indian-style wedding in 1949. After two miscarriages, they were unable to have a child.
  • She attended night classes for her Master of Arts in childhood education at Columbia University and earned it in 1951.

From Teaching to Politics

  • Since 1953, she has been the director of the Friend in Need Nursery for one year.
  • From 1954 to 1959, she worked at Madison Child Care Center.
  • After that, she served as an educational consultant, where she supervised ten daycare centers while starting up a new one in New York City’s Bureau of Child Welfare from 1959 to 1964.
  • She became well-known for her work on early education and child welfare issues as a result of her experiences.
  • In 1953, she voted with Wesley Holder to make Lewis Flagg Jr. the first black judge in Brooklyn. The group supporting Flagg later evolved into the Bedford-Stuyvesant Political League, encouraging candidates to support civil rights, fight racial discrimination, and improve Brooklyn’s economy.
  • She then became involved in politics. However, she left the group in 1958 due to a disagreement with Holder.
  • She volunteered for the white-dominated Brooklyn Democratic Clubs and the League of Women Voters. She also became the National Association of College Women’s Brooklyn representative.
  • She hoped to make significant changes to the structures of the organizations she joined. Her advocacy encouraged more black people to join the 17th District Club and get involved in local politics.
  • In 1960, she joined Thomas R. Jones’ Unity Democratic Club. The majority of UDC members were middle-class, racially integrated, and female leaders. She campaigned for Jones in the 1962 election for an assembly seat, which he won, becoming Brooklyn’s second black assemblyman.

Political Career

As State Legislator

  • After Jones refused to run for reelection in 1964, she hoped to run for an assembly seat. Her sexuality became the primary reason for UDC’s reluctance to support her.
  • She chose to use her presidency on the Brooklyn Branch of Key Women of America to appeal to female voters. She was successful in obtaining the seat.
  • She sat in the 175th, 176th, and 177th New York State Legislatures from 1965 to 1968 as a member of the assembly.
  • The Council of Elected Negro Democrats chose her as a leader for black representation on key committees in the Assembly in 1966.
  • One of her legislative accomplishments was the extension of unemployment benefits for domestic workers.
  • Through her sponsorship of the SEEK program, she also provided opportunities for underprivileged students to enter college while receiving remedial education.
  • She was elected and served as the Democratic National Committeewoman for New York State beginning in 1968.

House of Representatives

  • She ran for the 12th congressional district of New York in the House of Representatives in 1968. In January 1968, she declared her candidacy and garnered support with the slogan “Unbought and unbossed.”
  • After defeating her opponents, she became the first black woman elected to Congress. She was also the only female freshman in that election.
  • The Speaker of the House assigned her to serve on the House Agriculture Committee. Because she represented an urban district, she found her assignment irrelevant.
  • When she objected, Rebbe Menachem M. Schneerson simply told her to maximize the surplus food to feed the poor and hungry.
  • She met Bob Dole, with whom she collaborated on expanding the food stamp program. She became necessary in implementing the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
  • She realized her essence in the office assigned to her, giving credit to Schneerson since then. She was later appointed to the Veterans Affairs Committee.
  • She endorsed Hale Boggs for House Majority Leader over John Conyers. Boggs’ appreciation earned her a seat on the Education and Labor Committee. She was the third highest ranking member of the committee when she retired from Congress.
  • In 1971, she became one of the founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus as well as of the National Black Women’s Political Leadership Caucus.
  • She introduced a $10 billion bill to fund childcare services in 1975.

Presidential Candidacy

  • In 1972, she ran for president with the Democratic Party’s nomination, becoming the first woman to do so.
  • She endorsed herself as the people’s representative, offering a new articulation of American identity. During her campaign, she faced numerous challenges, including being underfunded, not being regarded as a symbolic political figure, and being ignored by her black male colleagues.
  • Because of the threats she was receiving, her husband served as her bodyguard until May 1972, when she was granted U.S. Secret Service protection.
  • She sparked controversy in May 1972 when she visited George Wallace in the hospital, despite the fact that he was her rival and ideological opposite. After several years, Wallace contributed to the passage of a bill granting domestic workers the right to a minimum wage.

Later Life and Death

  • On February 4, 1977, her marriage to Conrad ended in divorce. Later that year, she married former New York State Assemblyman Arthur Hardwick, Jr.
  • She resigned from Congress in January 1983 and has since relocated to Williamsville, New York. She resumed her education career while aspiring to be a college president, but many people impeded her.
  • Nonetheless, she was presented with numerous opportunities for teaching positions at colleges. She eagerly taught at institutions where the majority of the students were affluent whites because she wanted to expose them to her feminist viewpoint as well as her background and experiences.
  • In 1984, she co-founded the National Congress of Black Women with C. Tucker, Delores.
  • Hardwick died in August 1986.
  • She continues to give speeches at colleges, telling students that “If you don’t accept others who are different, it means nothing that you’ve learned calculus.” She also visits various minority groups, encouraging them to be a strong force at the local level.
  • She co-founded African-American Women for Reproductive Freedom with fifteen other black men and women in 1990.
  • In 1991, she relocated to Florida.
  • In 1993, she got a nomination as the US Ambassador to Jamaica from President Bill Clinton. Her ill health, however, forced her to withdraw her nomination. Nonetheless, she got enlisted into the 1993 National Women’s Hall of Fame.
  • Her health deteriorated significantly as a result of a series of minor strokes, leading to her death on January 1, 2005, while she was at home in Ormond Beach, Florida. She was laid to rest in the Birchwood Mausoleum, with the words “Unbought and Unbossed” engraved on her burial vault.

Shirley Chisholm Worksheets

This bundle includes 11 ready-to-use Shirley Chisholm worksheets that are perfect for students to learn about Shirley Chisholm, who was a politician, educator, and writer. She was the first African-American candidate to make a bid to become U.S. President and the first African-American woman to be elected as a U.S. congresswoman.

This download includes the following worksheets:

  • Shirley Chisholm Facts
  • Fame
  • Fill in the Blanks
  • Political Career
  • Career Timeline
  • True or False
  • Influential People
  • Teacher
  • Committee Assignment
  • Word Jumble
  • Poet’s Corner

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened to Shirley Chisholm?

Her health deteriorated significantly as a result of a series of minor strokes, leading to her death on January 1, 2005, while she was at home in Ormond Beach, Florida.

Who was the first black woman to serve in Congress?

After defeating her opponents, she (Shirley Chisholm) became the first black woman elected to Congress. She was also the only female freshman in that election.

What is a quote from Shirley Chisholm?

She continues to give speeches at colleges, telling students that “If you don’t accept others who are different, it means nothing that you’ve learned calculus.”

Is Shirley Chisholm a Delta Sigma Theta?

She joined the Delta Sigma Theta sorority at Brooklyn College. She also joined the Harriet Tubman Society, where she advocated for inclusion, the addition of black history courses, and women’s involvement in student government.

When did Shirley Chisholm serve in Congress?

For seven years, beginning in 1969, she was the representative of New York’s 12th congressional district.

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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