Shirley Chisholm

Her mother, Ruby Seale, was born in Christ Church, Barbados and arrived in New York City in 1921.

Charles St. Hill was a laborer who worked in a factory that made burlap bags and as a baker's helper.

Ruby St. Hill was a skilled seamstress and domestic worker who experienced the difficulty of working outside the home while simultaneously raising her children.

He arrived in New York City via Antilla, Cuba, in 1923.

Shirley Anita Chisholm (St. Hill; November 30, 1924 – January 1, 2005) was an American politician who, in 1968, became the first black woman to be elected to the United States Congress.

Shirley Anita St. Hill was born to immigrant parents on November 30, 1924, in Brooklyn, New York City.

She was of Guyanese and Bajan descent.

She had three younger sisters, two born within three years of her and one later.

Her father, Charles Christopher St. Hill, was born in British Guiana before moving to Barbados.

As a consequence, in November 1929, when Shirley turned five, she and her two sisters were sent to Barbados on the MS Vulcania to live with their maternal grandmother, Emaline Seale.

Shirley later said, "Granny gave me strength, dignity, and love. I learned from an early age that I was somebody. I didn't need the black revolution to teach me that."

Shirley and her sisters lived on their grandmother's farm in the Vauxhall village in Christ Church, where Shirley attended a one-room schoolhouse.

She returned to the United States in 1934, arriving in New York on May 19 aboard the SS Nerissa.

As a result of her time in Barbados, Shirley spoke with a West Indian accent throughout her life.

Beginning in 1939, she attended Girls' High School in the Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, a highly regarded, integrated school that attracted girls from throughout Brooklyn.

She did well academically at Girls' High and was chosen to be vice president of the Junior Arista honor society.

She was accepted at and offered scholarships to Vassar College and Oberlin College, but the family could not afford the room-and-board costs to go to either, so, instead, she selected Brooklyn College, where there was no charge for tuition and she could live at home and commute to the school.

She met Conrad O. Chisholm in the late 1940s.

She earned her Bachelor of Arts from Brooklyn College in 1946, majoring in sociology and minoring in Spanish (a language that she would employ at times during her political career).

She won prizes for her debating skills and graduated cum laude.

During her time at Brooklyn College, she was a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority and the Harriet Tubman Society.

As a member of the Harriet Tubman Society, she advocated for inclusion (specifically in terms of the integration of black soldiers in the military during World War II), the addition of courses that focused on African-American history and the involvement of more women in the student government.

However, this was not her first introduction to activism or politics.

Growing up, she was surrounded by politics, as her father was an avid supporter of Marcus Garvey's and a dedicated supporter of the rights of trade union members.

She saw her community advocate for its rights as she witnessed the Barbados workers' and anti-colonial independence movements.

He had migrated to the United States from Jamaica in 1946, and he later became a private investigator who specialized in negligence-based lawsuits.

She started working in early childhood education, and she became involved in local Democratic Party politics in the 1950s.

In 1964, overcoming some resistance because she was a woman, she was elected to the New York State Assembly.

Four years later, she was elected to Congress, where she led the expansion of food and nutrition programs for the poor and rose to party leadership.

Chisholm represented New York's 12th congressional district, a district centered on Bedford–Stuyvesant, for seven terms from 1969 to 1983.

In her 1970 autobiography, Unbought and Unbossed, she wrote: "Years later I would know what an important gift my parents had given me by seeing to it that I had my early education in the strict, traditional, British-style schools of Barbados. If I speak and write easily now, that early education is the main reason."

In addition, she belonged to the Quaker Brethren sect found in the West Indies, and religion became important to her; however, later in life, she attended services in a Methodist church.

As a result of her time on the island, and despite her U.S. birth, she would always consider herself a Barbadian American.

In 1972, she became the first black candidate for a major-party nomination for President of the United States and the first woman to run for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.

Throughout her career, she was known for taking "a resolute stand against economic, social, and political injustices," as well as being a strong supporter of black civil rights and women's rights.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, she spent ages five through nine in Barbados, and she always considered herself a Barbadian American.

She excelled at school and earned her college degree in the United States.

She retired from Congress in 1983 and taught at Mount Holyoke College while continuing her political organizing.

Although nominated for an ambassadorship in 1993, health issues caused her to withdraw.

In 2015, Chisholm was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.