A More Perfect Party: The Night Shirley Chisholm and Diahann Carroll Reshaped Politics

by Juanita Tolliver

By becoming the first black woman to run for President of the United States in 1972, New York Representative Shirley Chisholm did more than break the ice in American politics, she left behind a coalition model that requires voters in the United States to show up and show out for the candidates they trust. This coalition model lives on in one whimsical—but little known—1972 Hollywood fundraiser for Chisholm's Presidential Campaign hosted by Diahann Carroll. In A More Perfect Party, MSNBC political analyst and cohost of Crooked Media's What A Day podcast Juanita Tolliver argues that this model is exactly what we must employ today to support Black women’s’ electoral success.
 
When actress and singer Diahann Carroll opened the doors of her opulent Hollywood home to Shirley Chisolm and her guest list of Black Panther Party members, lauded musicians, political supporters and adversaries, Hollywood movers and shakers, and philanthropists, she knew they were in for a fabulous party. Chisolm worked the room, laughing, eating, and meeting with each guest to show how their respective fields were integral to her political success and the betterment of the United States. A More Perfect Party explores this unreal coming together of Diahann Carroll, Huey P. Newton, Goldie Hawn, Berry Gordy and more, and what their conversations tell us about our current political landscape. Zooming in on one integral conversation per chapter, this book highlights the gaps that today’s voters must address to challenge sluggish progress. Chisolm and Huey P. Newton talk voter turnout initiative for the Black Panthers. Chisolm encourages actress Goldie Hawn to take a confident, feminist stance against racism. Media mogul David Frost and Chisolm parse through media’s impact on the nation's calcified thinking that only white people and men are capable leaders.
 
A More Perfect Party is what happens when voters, donors, and kingmakers, step up and answer the call. Tolliver brings this forgotten event out of the margins of history to show curious voters of today the power of starting with their own interests to get involved politically and the pitfalls of sexism, racism, and fascism that stand in our way. By leveraging Chisholm's coalition blueprint, Black women candidates today can reach new political heights.

Genres: Politics, History, Nonfiction, American History, Biography Memoir

224 pages, Hardcover

Published January 14, 2025

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars!

"As Black women, we have a right and responsibility to define ourselves and seek our allies in common cause. "

A More Perfect Party is actually less about the party and more a way to introduce the reader to Shirley Chisholm. Chisholm is a revolutionary figure that you've probably never heard of. Chisholm was the first Black woman to serve in Congress and to run for the Democratic nomination for president. Chisholm knew she had no shot at winning but she used this run to get young Black and Brown interested in politics and to bring attention important policy positions like education, affordable housing, free health clinics, community run grocery stores and grass roots organizing. Chisholm only was able to raise what in today's money would be $2.5 million as opposed $1 billion dollars that the eventual nominee George McGovern would raise. Chisholm lacked everything required to successfully run for president but she inspired a while generation of Black women to enter politics.

Did I mention she was advocating for these things in 1972. She was Bernie Sanders way before Bernie. Chisholm was ahead of her time and the Democratic party still hasn't caught up with her.

I had heard about Chisholm but I didn't know much about her and this book really made me want to learn more about her.

Such a quick, easy to read book about an unsung hero.

Chisholm is an icon and we would be so much better off if the Democratic party lifted people like her up....but we know they never will because the Democrats are just Diet Republicans.

A Must Read!

[LiteraryMarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A More Perfect Party had me at the first line. It tells the background and details of April 29, 1972. A private whimsical event held in Beverly Hills with a guest list full of surprises. Hosted by Diahann Carroll for Shirley Chisholm's 1972 presidential campaign. I could feel the magic in the room from the pages of this new political nonfiction book. Juanita Tolliver's descriptive writing transported me to this party as if I were really there, carrying on conversations with Hollywood stars, activists, feminists, media moguls, comedians, music executives and the like.

Being the Bates Brat that I am, I already knew facts about Shirley Chisholm. We used to play a competition called Bates Battle where we learned little known Black History facts and battled for a prize every February. It was the highlight of the school year. Fast forward umpteen years later and the history I studied stuck with me. So while reading about Shirley Chisholm in A More Perfect Party, it was somewhat of a refresher.

But MSNBC political analyst Juanita Tolliver taught me facts that had me highlighting and reading twice! Each chapter begins with a quote and highlights one of the guests at the party. No spoilers here—you have to read to find out who was there! I had no idea about Shirley Chisholm's artistic talents. She wrote poetry, played the piano, was a dancer and designed clothing. Who knew that Diahann Carroll was so much more than the Black Godmother of Hollywood? Her connections and networking quite impressive. And how fitting to include the roles that Barbara Lee and Maxine "reclaiming my time" Waters played in coordinating the lavish event.

Most importantly, the book delves into the values that each woman holds and the clear parallels between their careers. Also clearly stated is the parallel to our current state of politics in 2024. Before Vice President Kamala Harris, there was Shirley Chisholm. I recommend A More Perfect Party for many reasons. Perfect title. Perfect account of events. Perfect context. Perfect power to the people nod. Perfect time to publish.

Happy Early Pub Day, Juanita Tolliver! A More Perfect Party will be available Tuesday, January 14, 2025.

Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins. ~LiteraryMarie

[Tamela Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an incredible read from the first page until the last.

The Black Panthers. Goldie Hawn. Gordy Berry. At a gaudy, high-brow soirée in honor of Shirley Chisholm. What is not to love? A More Perfect Party tells the story of the legendary party Dianne Carroll held for presidential candidate, Shirley Chisholm. But it’s also about the culture, politics, and conflicts that took place behind the scenes.

Of all the perspectives shared about Chisholm’s famous run for president, A More Perfect Party examines that era from a critical and Black lens, providing much-appreciated texture to an often sanitized and one-dimensional told career of the first Black woman presidential candidate.

[Reagan Formea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book in a giveaway!
This book was a joy to read, I’m always down to read about black her-story, and what an important person to read about! I’ll be honest in saying I haven’t ever consumed much media about Chisholm but this has lead me to want to learn more about her. I think my rating is more at a 4.5. As weird as it sounds- I take issue a bit in the title and how the book was marketed. This is about much more than the one event, this is about Chisholm’s whole campaign and impact on politics. Such a good read!!

[Kaitlyn Caughfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really interesting exploration of both the history and the legacy of Shirley Chisholm, and the choice to explore that through the campaign party thrown by Diahann Carroll is brilliant.

[Darcy J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐️ A star studded event. Like come on, Diahann Carrol, Berry Gordy, Huey P. Newton and Flip Wilson all in one room?

Full review on IG @dj.is.reading

[Blane · Rating 4 out of 5]

In some ways, this reads like an updating of Shirley Chisholm's classic memoir of her historic 1972 presidential run, 'The Good Fight'. As such, Tolliver highlights just how extraordinary and important Chisholm was to the (incredibly slowwwww) evolution of AmeriKKKan politics.

There is still so much to be done.

If this is your introduction to Chisholm, move on to both 'The Good Fight' & her earlier book, 'Unbought And Unbossed'. You won't be disappointed.

[amma.keep.reading]

I've always had an interest in Shirley Chisholm but until this book never took a deep dive into who she was and her impact on American politics. She was a brilliant visionary who could see the bigger picture of how race and gender would continue to effect American politics and society. This book is a brilliant tribute to her legacy.

[Isa · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are moments this book does exactly what I think the author intended: to demonstrate the relevance of Chisolm’s trailblazing presidential campaign in the 1970s to today’s politics. What it does more often, though, is veer from the neutral lens of historical writing to political opinion. Chisholm is placed on the pedestal she deserves to be viewed - but the author never gives her readers a chance to choose for themselves.

[Ben Jaques-Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

There were many moments reading this book where I didn’t like it. It was too cheerleading, not critical enough of its protagonist. But the last chapter and epilogue brought the whole narrative together and was very compelling.

[Jim Piascik · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is how history is best written. Take a slice of history previously unknown or unexplored, dig in on that narrow area and contextualize. I love thick, deep dives in theory, but this is a much better, digestible way to share history that is much more accessible and will help broaden the reach of the very cool and important information.

Won this book in a Goodreads giveaway but I was already planning on reading it (the former What A Day group ran strong).

[Bill Sleeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A More Perfect Party - The Night Shirley Chisholm and Diahann Carroll Reshaped Politics by political analyst Juanita Tolliver is a well-crafted consideration of a single event that uses the historical moment - a Hollywood campaign support party for Chisholm, hosted by Carroll - to examine both the first of its kind presidential run of Chisholm and the current state of politics for women and people of color generally. What could easily have drifted off to a series of complaints about the status of women in politics instead, in Tolliver’s excellent narrative, poses questions (and offers some possible solutions) about how to best leverage the lessons of Chisholm’s idealistic, but certainly not quixotic, efforts. As a librarian and government information specialist I considered myself to be versed in the importance of Chisholm’s history, but I did not know the full story of this event - the “Party” nor what it meant for coalition building for Black candidates and voters. In some ways this story put me in mind of “Summer of Soul.” That there was a whole other story, another astonishing musical event in 1969 that WASN”T Woodstock…was new to me (and I am reasonably well educated). Like that musical documentary, this is an eye-opening story - that people need to both know about and, as author Tolliver (who also was unfamiliar with the event as she explains) demonstrates, to learn from. A recommended read for anyone who values history and who hopes for a better future for our politics.

It gets five stars because I can’t give it more…but I would.

[Mr. Book · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can also see this review, along with others I have written, at my blog, Mr. Book's Book Reviews.

Thank you, Grand Central Publishing, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Mr. Book just finished A More Perfect Party: The Night Shirley Chisholm and Diahann Carroll Reshaped Politics, by Juanita Tolliver.

This book will be published on January 14, 2025.

The title of this book gives the appearance that is just about a party that Diahann Carroll threw to serve as a fundraiser for Shirley Chisholm’s campaign in 1972. But, the book was far more than than that. The focus on the book was far more on the issues that Chisholm’s campaign faced in terms of racism and sexism and how those issues are still with us today.

This book did a great job balancing both the political times of 1972 and today’s world.

I give this book an A. Goodreads and NetGalley require grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, an A equates to 5 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).

This review has been posted at NetGalley, Goodreads and my blog, Mr. Book’s Book Reviews

Mr. Book finished reading this on September 25, 2024.

[Pamela Beckford · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came of age in the 70's but I really didn't know much about the politics in the early 70's. Of course I had heard about Shirley Chisholm. But I really didn't know much about her.

This book was so enlightening to me from a look at Chisholm's political career; the marginalization of all women, black women in particular; and the interplay between celebrity and politics. I also learned things about the Black Panthers. While this book was written before the end of the 2024 Presidential race, I could see so much of what Tolliver says almost as a foreshadowing.

If you are at all interested in women's rights, black rights, politics, or history, this is the book for you. I encourage you to read it and better inform yourself. Shirley Chisholm cracked some ice, Hillary put some cracks in the glass ceiling and Kamala deepened those cracks. One day, hopefully in my lifetime, we will watch it all shatter and elect a woman to be in the White House.

This book was given to me by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

[KJ Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book. Shirley Chisholm is such a badass and her story is so interesting.

But she seemed like a side character of this book that was supposed to be about her. The only chapter where most of the topic sentences of paragraphs were about her was in Chapter 9. She was mentioned at points throughout the book, but it just didn’t feel like it was about her, rather that she just happened to tie all of the other stuff in the book together. Womp womp.

So my hot take is that, I wish I would have just read chapter 9. I felt as though a lot of the background and context wasn’t entirely relevant, especially all of the references to present day. I wanted a lot more of Chisholm’s history. This book didn’t deliver that.

[Karissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an incredible read! I knew a little bit about Shirley Chisolm's campaign, but I loved how Juanita Tolliver shed light on how celebrities, activists, and other political figures came together to support her campaign. I enjoyed learning about how the line between politics and celebrities intersected. Reading this after the 2024 election, it's eye-opening how much hasn't changed between Shirley Chisolm and Kamala Harris' campaign. The writing style is easy to comprehend and the narration on the audiobook was great as well!

[Emilie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't recommend this short book of political reporting/history enough. The story of how one fundraising event Diahann Carroll threw for Shirley Chisholm has rippled down through our current political day is fascinating. I loved the audiobook narrated by Tolliver herself and love that she recognized the valuable history in Rep. Lee's personal retelling of the story. "People-centered" is a great description as each chapter focuses on a different influential and important guest at the party, why they were there, how they got there, how the party and Shirley Chisholm impacted them later.

[Claudyne Vielot · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never thought of Diahann Carroll and Shirley Chisholm knowing each other, let alone Carroll holding a fundraiser for Chisholm’s presidential campaign! Juanita Tolliver wove together the community building as well of the challenges of the Chisholm campaign, with the Harris campaign. She also emphasized the how solidarity and lack thereof played a pivotal role for black women in politics. This book shows us that we haven’t come as far as we hoped to, but we have the tools to help us get further.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this would have more details about the party itself besides who attended. I really wanted to hear some juicy gossip honestly 😅 but this book was really about the connections between Shirley Chisholm (the first Black woman in Congress and the first woman to run for POTUS) and current day political figures. Chisholm absolutely paved the way for the women of the present day progressive party and it is a shame that her ideas were not taken seriously then and still are not now.

[Candous Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written. An excellent conversation starter. A great starting point to learning about how women’s roles in modern politics has evolved. And especially how black and brown women have taken the charge and let it be known that until we are accepted and acknowledged, the system will forever be flawed. BRAVA!

[Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved that the book uses the historical event in the campaign of the great Shirley Chisholm in daring to run for President of the United States as a way to offer hopeful lessons for our own work to build a sustainable movement for political change as we move ahead to fight the mess of the regime of Trumpy Dumpty. More folks should be aware of, read and consider this important book.

[Hannah McTiernan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved the writing in this book and the way it wove past, present, and future. Clearly so extensively researched, this book taught me a lot about Shirley Chisholm. It made me think deeply about the role that each person plays in politics, and the impact it has on the nation.

[raven · Rating 5 out of 5]

no notes!

[Camille · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very important read highlighting Shirley Chisholm and the legacy she has left! I enjoyed this and learned a lot.

[Carol Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much excellent information on the Party and the Democratic Party

[Brent · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0

[Kelly]

DNF - The intro fell short to keep me interested in the rest of the book. Totally drawn into the unique plot point of the party but lost in the first few pages.

[Michael Awotwi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Building Black political power

Wow, I loved this book! Anyone who is interested in political history and black history, I highly recommend this book!