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Speak Up, Speak Out!: The Extraordinary Life of Fighting Shirley Chisholm
From award-winning author Tonya Bolden comes a biography of the first Black woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and the first Black woman to run for president with a major political party: Shirley Chisholm.
Before there was Barack Obama, before there was Kamala Harris, there was Fighting Shirley Chisholm. A daughter of Barbadian immigrants, Chisholm developed her political chops in Brooklyn in the 1950s and went on to become the first Black woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. This “pepper pot,” as she was known, was not afraid to speak up for what she thought was right. While fighting for a better life for her constituents in New York’s 12th Congressional District, Chisholm routinely fought against sexism and racism in her own life and defied the norms of the time. As the first Black woman in the House and the first Black woman to seek the presidential nomination from a major political party, Shirley Chisholm laid the groundwork for those who would come after her.
Extensively researched and reviewed by experts, this inspiring biography traces Chisholm’s journey from her childhood in a small flat in Brooklyn where she read books with her sisters to Brooklyn College where she got her first taste of politics. Readers will cheer Chisholm on to victory from the campaign trail to the hallowed halls of the U.S. Capitol, where she fought for fair wages, equal rights, and an end to the Vietnam War. And while the presidential campaign trail in 1972 did not end in victory, Shirley Chisholm shows us how you can change a country when you speak up and speak out.
Before there was Barack Obama, before there was Kamala Harris, there was Fighting Shirley Chisholm. A daughter of Barbadian immigrants, Chisholm developed her political chops in Brooklyn in the 1950s and went on to become the first Black woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. This “pepper pot,” as she was known, was not afraid to speak up for what she thought was right. While fighting for a better life for her constituents in New York’s 12th Congressional District, Chisholm routinely fought against sexism and racism in her own life and defied the norms of the time. As the first Black woman in the House and the first Black woman to seek the presidential nomination from a major political party, Shirley Chisholm laid the groundwork for those who would come after her.
Extensively researched and reviewed by experts, this inspiring biography traces Chisholm’s journey from her childhood in a small flat in Brooklyn where she read books with her sisters to Brooklyn College where she got her first taste of politics. Readers will cheer Chisholm on to victory from the campaign trail to the hallowed halls of the U.S. Capitol, where she fought for fair wages, equal rights, and an end to the Vietnam War. And while the presidential campaign trail in 1972 did not end in victory, Shirley Chisholm shows us how you can change a country when you speak up and speak out.
144 pages, Hardcover
Published January 4, 2022
About the author
Tonya Bolden
83 books191 followersAuthor and publisher Tonya Wilyce Bolden was born on March 1, 1959, in New York City to Georgia Bolden, a homemaker, and Willie Bolden, a garment center shipping manager. Bolden grew up in Harlem in a musical family and loved to read; she attended Public M.E.S. 146, an elementary school in Manhattan, and then graduated from the Chapin School, a private secondary school, in Manhattan in 1976. Bolden attended Princeton University in New Jersey, and, in 1981, obtained her B.A. degree in Slavic languages and literature with a Russian focus. Bolden was also a University Scholar and received the Nicholas Bachko, Jr. Scholarship Prize.
Upon graduating from Princeton University, Bolden began working as a salesperson for Charles Alan, Incorporated, a dress manufacturer, while working towards her M.A. degree at Columbia University. In 1985, Bolden earned her degree in Slavic languages and literature, as well as a Certificate for Advanced Study of the Soviet Union from the Harriman Institute; after this she began working as an office coordinator for Raoulfilm, Inc., assisting in the research and development of various film and literary products. Bolden worked as an English instructor at Malcolm-King College and New Rochelle School of New Resources while serving as newsletter editor of the HARKline, a homeless shelter newsletter.
In 1990, Bolden wrote her first book, The Family Heirloom Cookbook. In 1992, Bolden co-authored a children’s book entitled Mama, I Want To Sing along with Vy Higginsen, based on Higginsen’s musical. Bolden continued publishing throughout the 1990s, releasing Starting a Business from your Home, Mail-Order and Direct Response, The Book of African-American Women: 150 Crusaders, Creators, and Uplifters, And Not Afraid to Dare: The Stories of Ten African-American Women, American Patriots: The Story of Blacks in the Military from the Revolution to Desert Storm and The Champ. Bolden became editor of the Quarterly Black Review of Books in 1994, and served as an editor for 33 Things Every Girl Should Know, in 1998. Bolden’s writing career became even more prolific in the following decade; a partial list of her works include:, Our Souls: A Celebration of Black American Artists, Maritcha: A Nineteenth Century American Girl, MLK: Journey of a King, Take-Off: American All-Girl Bands During World War II, and George Washington Carver, a book she authored in conjunction with an exhibit about the famous African American inventor created by The Field Museum in Chicago.
(source; http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biogr...)
Upon graduating from Princeton University, Bolden began working as a salesperson for Charles Alan, Incorporated, a dress manufacturer, while working towards her M.A. degree at Columbia University. In 1985, Bolden earned her degree in Slavic languages and literature, as well as a Certificate for Advanced Study of the Soviet Union from the Harriman Institute; after this she began working as an office coordinator for Raoulfilm, Inc., assisting in the research and development of various film and literary products. Bolden worked as an English instructor at Malcolm-King College and New Rochelle School of New Resources while serving as newsletter editor of the HARKline, a homeless shelter newsletter.
In 1990, Bolden wrote her first book, The Family Heirloom Cookbook. In 1992, Bolden co-authored a children’s book entitled Mama, I Want To Sing along with Vy Higginsen, based on Higginsen’s musical. Bolden continued publishing throughout the 1990s, releasing Starting a Business from your Home, Mail-Order and Direct Response, The Book of African-American Women: 150 Crusaders, Creators, and Uplifters, And Not Afraid to Dare: The Stories of Ten African-American Women, American Patriots: The Story of Blacks in the Military from the Revolution to Desert Storm and The Champ. Bolden became editor of the Quarterly Black Review of Books in 1994, and served as an editor for 33 Things Every Girl Should Know, in 1998. Bolden’s writing career became even more prolific in the following decade; a partial list of her works include:, Our Souls: A Celebration of Black American Artists, Maritcha: A Nineteenth Century American Girl, MLK: Journey of a King, Take-Off: American All-Girl Bands During World War II, and George Washington Carver, a book she authored in conjunction with an exhibit about the famous African American inventor created by The Field Museum in Chicago.
(source; http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biogr...)
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February 26, 2022
This was a well done 3.5/4 stars. I might revise the star rating. It was the biography of Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman Congressman, as Chisholm put it. There were a few things that bothered me: the use of “Shirls” in the beginning, and other similar stuff that seemed done more to reach the age group, rather than simply writing a solid book. I’m surprised because Bolden has so much experience that she didn’t need such mechanisms to reach her audience. There was also the odd phrase “tumor in her pelvis” that sent me to Google to find out what was actually going on. Again, I can’t figure out the phrasing. I assumed perhaps some sort of tumor connected with the sex organs or some such but it was simply a benign tumor in the stomach, which is not located in the pelvis! There was also no criticism of Chisholm in the book, with one minor exception, which surprised me. In this day and age we surely don’t need to pretend people are without faults! However, the book does an excellent job of covering her political life. Bolden mostly stayed away from her personal life other than mentioning a divorce after 30 years and remarriage less than a year later. I would have enjoyed more information on her personal life. Perhaps, though, Bolden answered that by quoting Chisholm’s demands for people to stay out of her personal life. This is a desperately needed book for girls to see women can go far in politics or other fields! Definitely recommend but with a few reservations.
February 28, 2022
Richie’s Picks: SPEAK UP, SPEAK OUT! THE EXTRAORDINARY LIFE OF FIGHTING SHIRLEY CHISHOLM by Tonya Bolden, National Geographic, January 2022, 144p., ISBN: 978-1-4263-7236-0
“If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring in a folding chair.”
– Shirley Chisholm (1924-2005)
"Sing a song of America
Once she was a young girl with her heart on fire
Born in the dust of the magic of history
It all goes on, yeah the dream goes on."
-- Paul Kantner/Marty Balin "America” (1986)
“‘GERMANS OCCUPY PARIS, PRESS ON SOUTH…’”
‘BRITISH BOMB BERLIN…’
‘NAZIS ADVANCE IN YUGOSLAVIA…’
‘SUBMARINE SHELLS CALIFORNIA OIL PLANT…’
Scary, scary days. Days of air-raid drills, of hunts for spies and saboteurs, of occasional dimouts and blackouts, of manned antiaircraft guns at New York forts, of the rationing of sugar, meat, and other goods.
As for Shirls, she more than soldiered on at Girls’ High.
She excelled in French, earning a medal What’s more, Shirls was vice president of the Junior Arista honor society.
‘Arista’ derives from the Greek word for ‘best.’ And when Shirls graduated from Girls’ High in 1942, she had options on where to go next to be her best. She had snagged several scholarships. Two really thrilled her.
One was for Vassar College, some 90 miles away up in Poughkeepsie, New York. This prestigious, private, then all-women’s school had only recently begun admitting Black women. Knowingly, that is. Years earlier, several very light-skinned Black women had attended Vassar passing as white.
The other scholarship was for Oberlin College, in Oberlin, Ohio, nearly 500 miles away. It was one of the first U.S. colleges to admit Black people and women (back in the 1830s.)
Vassar or Oberlin? Vassar or Oberlin? Vasar or–
Neither.
Those scholarships didn’t cover room and board, expenses Shirls’s parents couldn’t afford–parents who by then had the family living in a small apartment building at 316 Patchen Avenue in Bed-Stuy. Home was now a six-room apartment. It was rent free because Papa was the building’s janitor.
Even if Ruby and Charles had the dough for room and board at Vassar or Oberlin, given the tight rein Mummy kept on her girls, it’s doubtful that Shirls would have been allowed to go away to college, not some 90 miles away and certainly not nearly 500 miles away. Instead, Shirls went to a school that she could reach initially by subway and trolley car: Brooklyn College.”
Four years later, when Shirley Chisholm graduated with honors from Brooklyn College, she was already known both on and off campus for speaking up and speaking out. She was barely out of her teens and planned to become a teacher, but a professor encouraged her to go into politics. And that’s what she did.
By her late twenties, this eldest daughter of West Indian immigrants participated in a successful campaign to elect Brooklyn’s first-ever Black judge. At the same time, she was attending graduate school in preparation for a job as an early childhood educator. She soon worked her way up to an administrative position in which she oversaw ten New York City daycare centers.
Shirley also continued to work in the political trenches. By the age of forty, she ran for a seat in the New York State Assembly and won, becoming the first Black woman from Brooklyn to do so. There she fought for housing and jobs, more daycare centers, civil rights, unemployment insurance, and multicultural education classes.
In 1968, in the aftermath of MLK’s assassination, Shirley Chisholm became the first Black woman ever elected to Congress. She arrived in the nation’s capital at a time when many white Southern congressmen opposed having a Black woman eating in the House dining room. Meanwhile, the new Nixon administration was advocating the spending of billions for new weapons systems while cutting the paltry sums spent on Head Start programs for poor preschool children.
In Shirley’s first speech on the House floor, she cited “poverty, prejudice, and neglect” in America as our nation’s greatest enemies.
Ms. Chisholm spoke up in favor of cost-of-living increases for seniors on Social Security. She spoke out in support of honoring Dr. King with a national holiday. She spoke up for the proposed ERA, the Equal Rights Amendment, and for gay rights. She spoke out against the Vietnam War and the ever-growing military budget. And, she voiced her belief that, if eighteen year-old American kids were old enough to go fight and die in Vietnam, they were also old enough to vote.
As a teenager, I heard Shirley Chisholm speak at the first big antiwar rally I attended, in Washington, D.C. That was a year before she ran a shoestring campaign for President that didn’t set the world on fire, but helped blaze the trail for future Black and female candidates.
Shirley Chisholm was a trailblazer on many issues affecting poor Americans and citizens who didn’t have a seat at the table. Tonya Bolden’s SPEAK UP, SPEAK OUT! is a gem of a bio for young readers about a girl with guts, determination, and the dreams that many of us share, for an America that supports and cares about all of its people.
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com
https://www.facebook.com/richiespicks/
https://twitter.com/richiespicks
richiepartington@gmail.com
“If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring in a folding chair.”
– Shirley Chisholm (1924-2005)
"Sing a song of America
Once she was a young girl with her heart on fire
Born in the dust of the magic of history
It all goes on, yeah the dream goes on."
-- Paul Kantner/Marty Balin "America” (1986)
“‘GERMANS OCCUPY PARIS, PRESS ON SOUTH…’”
‘BRITISH BOMB BERLIN…’
‘NAZIS ADVANCE IN YUGOSLAVIA…’
‘SUBMARINE SHELLS CALIFORNIA OIL PLANT…’
Scary, scary days. Days of air-raid drills, of hunts for spies and saboteurs, of occasional dimouts and blackouts, of manned antiaircraft guns at New York forts, of the rationing of sugar, meat, and other goods.
As for Shirls, she more than soldiered on at Girls’ High.
She excelled in French, earning a medal What’s more, Shirls was vice president of the Junior Arista honor society.
‘Arista’ derives from the Greek word for ‘best.’ And when Shirls graduated from Girls’ High in 1942, she had options on where to go next to be her best. She had snagged several scholarships. Two really thrilled her.
One was for Vassar College, some 90 miles away up in Poughkeepsie, New York. This prestigious, private, then all-women’s school had only recently begun admitting Black women. Knowingly, that is. Years earlier, several very light-skinned Black women had attended Vassar passing as white.
The other scholarship was for Oberlin College, in Oberlin, Ohio, nearly 500 miles away. It was one of the first U.S. colleges to admit Black people and women (back in the 1830s.)
Vassar or Oberlin? Vassar or Oberlin? Vasar or–
Neither.
Those scholarships didn’t cover room and board, expenses Shirls’s parents couldn’t afford–parents who by then had the family living in a small apartment building at 316 Patchen Avenue in Bed-Stuy. Home was now a six-room apartment. It was rent free because Papa was the building’s janitor.
Even if Ruby and Charles had the dough for room and board at Vassar or Oberlin, given the tight rein Mummy kept on her girls, it’s doubtful that Shirls would have been allowed to go away to college, not some 90 miles away and certainly not nearly 500 miles away. Instead, Shirls went to a school that she could reach initially by subway and trolley car: Brooklyn College.”
Four years later, when Shirley Chisholm graduated with honors from Brooklyn College, she was already known both on and off campus for speaking up and speaking out. She was barely out of her teens and planned to become a teacher, but a professor encouraged her to go into politics. And that’s what she did.
By her late twenties, this eldest daughter of West Indian immigrants participated in a successful campaign to elect Brooklyn’s first-ever Black judge. At the same time, she was attending graduate school in preparation for a job as an early childhood educator. She soon worked her way up to an administrative position in which she oversaw ten New York City daycare centers.
Shirley also continued to work in the political trenches. By the age of forty, she ran for a seat in the New York State Assembly and won, becoming the first Black woman from Brooklyn to do so. There she fought for housing and jobs, more daycare centers, civil rights, unemployment insurance, and multicultural education classes.
In 1968, in the aftermath of MLK’s assassination, Shirley Chisholm became the first Black woman ever elected to Congress. She arrived in the nation’s capital at a time when many white Southern congressmen opposed having a Black woman eating in the House dining room. Meanwhile, the new Nixon administration was advocating the spending of billions for new weapons systems while cutting the paltry sums spent on Head Start programs for poor preschool children.
In Shirley’s first speech on the House floor, she cited “poverty, prejudice, and neglect” in America as our nation’s greatest enemies.
Ms. Chisholm spoke up in favor of cost-of-living increases for seniors on Social Security. She spoke out in support of honoring Dr. King with a national holiday. She spoke up for the proposed ERA, the Equal Rights Amendment, and for gay rights. She spoke out against the Vietnam War and the ever-growing military budget. And, she voiced her belief that, if eighteen year-old American kids were old enough to go fight and die in Vietnam, they were also old enough to vote.
As a teenager, I heard Shirley Chisholm speak at the first big antiwar rally I attended, in Washington, D.C. That was a year before she ran a shoestring campaign for President that didn’t set the world on fire, but helped blaze the trail for future Black and female candidates.
Shirley Chisholm was a trailblazer on many issues affecting poor Americans and citizens who didn’t have a seat at the table. Tonya Bolden’s SPEAK UP, SPEAK OUT! is a gem of a bio for young readers about a girl with guts, determination, and the dreams that many of us share, for an America that supports and cares about all of its people.
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com
https://www.facebook.com/richiespicks/
https://twitter.com/richiespicks
richiepartington@gmail.com
June 10, 2022
An enjoyable read/listen about one of my role models who I first learned of when she ran for president in 1972. I followed her political career (and Barbara Jordan's) as she fought for the rights of all people, especially those who had almost no voice in our government. She was a remarkable woman, a remarkable black woman, and her place in our history should be raised so that everyone knows who she was and what she did for the people of this country. This is a book for all ages.
October 28, 2022
Copy provided by Media Masters Publicity and Young Adult Books Central
If you work with middle school students, you NEED this 132 page biography (page count is important!) of the spirited and influential Chisholm. I'm surprised that this has no reviews on Goodreads and that I haven't seen it all over social media. With the combination of Bolden's fantastic writing, a forward from Stacy Abrams, the timely topic of Blacks in the political landscape and the start of Black History Month, eveyrone should know about this new book!
While I'm not usually a fan of books that start with maps, the map of Modern Day Brooklyn was very instructional for me. While I've read a lot of books set in New York City, so many of the Brooklyn neighborhoods sounded familiar, I wasn't quite aware that... they were all in Brooklyn? This was just a great way to introduce me to the world that Chisolm represented, and being able to see the geography (so much coastline!), proximity to Manhattan, and different places where Chisholm lived was very helpful.
Chisholm's family background, and her parent's immigration story, sets the stage for the environment in which she was raised. Born in 1924, and set to spend time with a grandmother in Barbados in 1928, Chisholm's life was shaped by the events of her times. However, she had a strong drive that propelled her to seek experiences outside of what was expected of women at that time. She attended college (although wasn't able to go as far as Oberlin or Vassar), started off pursuing a degree in education, but early on got interestested in politics. For a young Black woman in 1944 to get interested in politics? Wow. I can't imagine how many difficulties she would have faced.
By the late 1950s, she was the director of a day care center and heavily involved in local politics. With her background, she knew that to make changes and to get the people of her community things that they needed, she would have to "make a lot of noise". She eventually became vice president of the Central Brooklyn Coordinating Council, and became the first Black woman elected to the New York State Assembly in 1964. She fought tremendous societal and personal challenges to become the first Black woman to win a congressional seat in 1968.
What stood out to me was how invested in the welfare of her constituents Chisholm won. It seems like many elected officials are involved in politics to forward their own agenda, but Chisholm really wanted to make positive changes for the people in her community. This is a great message for young readers today. If more politicians had this motivation, the world would certainly be a better place.
Chisholm's story is an inspiring one. Bolden's concise and fast-paced writing, enlivened by a style that captures some of Chisholm's no nonsense rhetoric, brings to life a political figure everyone should know. There are pictures in the center of the book, although I wish that this had been a photobiography like National Geographic's Onward: A Photobiography of African-American Polar Explorer Matthew Henson by Dolores Johnson. Chisholm was a colorful character, and it's a shame that so few color pictures of her exist! This book is a must purchase for any middle school or public library.
If you work with middle school students, you NEED this 132 page biography (page count is important!) of the spirited and influential Chisholm. I'm surprised that this has no reviews on Goodreads and that I haven't seen it all over social media. With the combination of Bolden's fantastic writing, a forward from Stacy Abrams, the timely topic of Blacks in the political landscape and the start of Black History Month, eveyrone should know about this new book!
While I'm not usually a fan of books that start with maps, the map of Modern Day Brooklyn was very instructional for me. While I've read a lot of books set in New York City, so many of the Brooklyn neighborhoods sounded familiar, I wasn't quite aware that... they were all in Brooklyn? This was just a great way to introduce me to the world that Chisolm represented, and being able to see the geography (so much coastline!), proximity to Manhattan, and different places where Chisholm lived was very helpful.
Chisholm's family background, and her parent's immigration story, sets the stage for the environment in which she was raised. Born in 1924, and set to spend time with a grandmother in Barbados in 1928, Chisholm's life was shaped by the events of her times. However, she had a strong drive that propelled her to seek experiences outside of what was expected of women at that time. She attended college (although wasn't able to go as far as Oberlin or Vassar), started off pursuing a degree in education, but early on got interestested in politics. For a young Black woman in 1944 to get interested in politics? Wow. I can't imagine how many difficulties she would have faced.
By the late 1950s, she was the director of a day care center and heavily involved in local politics. With her background, she knew that to make changes and to get the people of her community things that they needed, she would have to "make a lot of noise". She eventually became vice president of the Central Brooklyn Coordinating Council, and became the first Black woman elected to the New York State Assembly in 1964. She fought tremendous societal and personal challenges to become the first Black woman to win a congressional seat in 1968.
What stood out to me was how invested in the welfare of her constituents Chisholm won. It seems like many elected officials are involved in politics to forward their own agenda, but Chisholm really wanted to make positive changes for the people in her community. This is a great message for young readers today. If more politicians had this motivation, the world would certainly be a better place.
Chisholm's story is an inspiring one. Bolden's concise and fast-paced writing, enlivened by a style that captures some of Chisholm's no nonsense rhetoric, brings to life a political figure everyone should know. There are pictures in the center of the book, although I wish that this had been a photobiography like National Geographic's Onward: A Photobiography of African-American Polar Explorer Matthew Henson by Dolores Johnson. Chisholm was a colorful character, and it's a shame that so few color pictures of her exist! This book is a must purchase for any middle school or public library.
February 17, 2024
I found this biography interesting and inspiring, as I'd never known much of anything about Shirley Chisholm or the legacy she left behind. A true fighter for the ones who need defending. We need more people in Congress like her, hustling for the "workaday" people, the marginalized, and the struggling. Definitely an extraordinary person.
I think this book is categorized as Middle Grade, but I would say upper middle or YA would be the best target ages, as some basic interest in or understanding of political science is needed to grasp everything that she did and accomplished.
The content is explained simply and the story is told in plain language, which made it a great book to listen to as I'm in my car navigating traffic. There were moments when the chronology becomes confusing (which might have been clearer if I read an "eyeball" version of the book), and the audiobook reader struggled with parsing phrases correctly sometimes (e.g., putting all the emphasis on a city name in a city/state name combo with a resulting weird pause and de-emphasis on the state name afterward), but other than those minor gripes, I highly recommend this audiobook--or its print cousin. A quick and easy way to learn about an important and less-known figure in American history.
I think this book is categorized as Middle Grade, but I would say upper middle or YA would be the best target ages, as some basic interest in or understanding of political science is needed to grasp everything that she did and accomplished.
The content is explained simply and the story is told in plain language, which made it a great book to listen to as I'm in my car navigating traffic. There were moments when the chronology becomes confusing (which might have been clearer if I read an "eyeball" version of the book), and the audiobook reader struggled with parsing phrases correctly sometimes (e.g., putting all the emphasis on a city name in a city/state name combo with a resulting weird pause and de-emphasis on the state name afterward), but other than those minor gripes, I highly recommend this audiobook--or its print cousin. A quick and easy way to learn about an important and less-known figure in American history.
April 14, 2022
Author Tonya Bolden has outlined the path that was the life of Shirley Chisholm. Each chapter shares the experiences she encountered from her youth to adulthood.
Shirley was raised by a father who was a helper at a bakery and her mother was a seamstress. Both came to Brooklyn by way of Barbados. Shirley attended Brooklyn College, joined the NAACP and Urban League where she was inspired to help African Americans. Later her passion turned to politics. In 1969 she was the first Black woman congressperson. In the U.S. House of Representatives, she helped make Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday a national holiday, helped to increase Social Security, get more benefits for police and firefighters disabled in the line of duty and so much more.
The forward was written by Stacey Abrams and includes a map of modern-day Brooklyn, photos of Shirley in action, authors notes and more resources to learn about this amazing woman. Parents and teachers can use this as a tool to teach history, political achievements, women in politics and so much more.
Shirley was raised by a father who was a helper at a bakery and her mother was a seamstress. Both came to Brooklyn by way of Barbados. Shirley attended Brooklyn College, joined the NAACP and Urban League where she was inspired to help African Americans. Later her passion turned to politics. In 1969 she was the first Black woman congressperson. In the U.S. House of Representatives, she helped make Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday a national holiday, helped to increase Social Security, get more benefits for police and firefighters disabled in the line of duty and so much more.
The forward was written by Stacey Abrams and includes a map of modern-day Brooklyn, photos of Shirley in action, authors notes and more resources to learn about this amazing woman. Parents and teachers can use this as a tool to teach history, political achievements, women in politics and so much more.
May 12, 2022
This is a wonderful biography of American Congresswoman and activist Shirley Chisholm who devoted her life to social and political change. The book has many attributes: a map of Chisholm’s home in Brooklyn, NY with key locations; several captioned photos from her life; notes and resources on where to find more information; an index; and probably most important, author Tonya Bolden’s vibrant prose and vivid descriptions. As a professional librarian (retired), I advocate adding this book to public library collections in particular. Although it is written for middle schoolers (ages 10-14), it will speak to older teens and adults as well, especially those with reading challenges or who are ELLs (English language learners). These readers may read on a simpler level, and yet they certainly will be interested in Chisholm’s life. I strongly recommend this book.
September 16, 2022
Although this book is intended for 10-14-year-olds, it's quite suitable for adults, too, who know little about Shirley Chisholm. I was a young teenager deeply into current events when she ran for president. I paid little attention to the news on her since I knew she could never win the Democratic primary. As a black person and a woman, she had no chance whatsoever. This book made me realize how gutsy she was to even run. This was a woman who cared a lot about important issues, cared a lot about ending the Vietnam War, and cared a lot about the hopes and needs of the poor and the working class. Her life truly deserves more recognition, such as this excellent National Geographic book.
(Note: I received a free copy of this book from Amazon Vine.)
(Note: I received a free copy of this book from Amazon Vine.)
April 29, 2022
Shirley Chisolm's parents wanted their three daughters to get a college education and make something of themselves. They worked hard for many hours and encourged them to work too! They remind my grandmother who during the Great Drepression were poor and all twelve children had college degrees. As the first black woman congresswoman, she worked for poor people to get an early chldhood education, worked for bill for racial equality, a better miniumum wage and equal rights for women.
Learning from grassroots of politics and running for president as the first black woman from a major political party, she fought as long and hard as she could.
Learning from grassroots of politics and running for president as the first black woman from a major political party, she fought as long and hard as she could.
May 7, 2024
A powerfully succinct biography of Shirley Chisholm who I know a little about and who I learned more about in Bolden's capable hands. She was unafraid to bring her "folding chair" to the table she wasn't invited to, work hard on behalf of the people, particularly people of color using her voice and brain. It did cost her time with family, but the work was important and she paved the way for those that came after her.
She's not as discussed as others, but that is changing and being the first female presidential nominee would do that for a person. She did lead an extraordinary life and leaves an amazing legacy behind as well-- that of an unbought and unbossed lady.
She's not as discussed as others, but that is changing and being the first female presidential nominee would do that for a person. She did lead an extraordinary life and leaves an amazing legacy behind as well-- that of an unbought and unbossed lady.
November 15, 2022
Shirley Chisholm was amazing and I was happy to hear about all the bills she created and policies she fought for.
50 years later everything she wanted we still need; I wish she was fighting for us now.
The writing was not great. I knew it was written for kids but I did not enjoy the repetitiveness, 2 word sentences, and having to reread awkward sentences in order to understand them.
Having the same exact quote from Louis Salome on pg 104 & 110- is that bad writing, bad editing, or both?
but Shirley Chisholm is an inspiration.
50 years later everything she wanted we still need; I wish she was fighting for us now.
The writing was not great. I knew it was written for kids but I did not enjoy the repetitiveness, 2 word sentences, and having to reread awkward sentences in order to understand them.
Having the same exact quote from Louis Salome on pg 104 & 110- is that bad writing, bad editing, or both?
but Shirley Chisholm is an inspiration.
November 20, 2024
I went back to Shirley Chisholm after the recent election. I listened to this audio, which includes a forward by Stacey Abrams. Another great insight into the life and work of an amazing woman who was breaking color and gender barriers in the 1960s. What made this difficult to hear right now was thinking about the barriers this powerhouse of a Black woman kicked down in 1968 only to now see a qualified Black woman like Kamala Harris so thoroughly disrespected in 2024. It's worthwhile, but challenging in perspective.
March 26, 2024
Shirley Chisolm lived a remarkable life and this book captures her spirit and accomplishments well. It's good that the book details not only her triumphs but also some of the challenges and criticisms that came her way. She's been overlooked in history and it's good to see her getting attention lately.
February 7, 2025
This amazing woman fought for anyone who needed a voice and everyone who never realized that they had a say. There are many facts about Shirley that I've learned and others that I hadn't. I feel that this book gives me hope that someday soon there will be more voices of all groups of people heard politically and in every day life.
April 5, 2022
What an inspiring woman! Shirley Chisholm definitely doesn't get enough recognition for all the groundbreaking work she did over decades in politics. This isn't a particularly flashy biography, but it's a straightforward account of her life and accomplishments.
April 12, 2022
Tonya Bolden has written a superb biography for young people about the remarkable Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress. Following her life from the time her parents immigrated to the United States, met and married, to the time she passed away in 2005. It's clear from the beginning that Shirley Chisholm was a woman of courage and determination. Bolden does a great job of highlighting both the ups and downs of Chisholm's life as she faced discrimination for being Black and for being a woman. She graduated from college which was remarkable and became a teacher. She taught for a while before jumping feet first into politics, a world she wouldn't leave for decades to come. Bolden does a great job providing context for Chisholm's life emphasizing how she stepped up to help make change rather than waiting for someone else to do it. Like all politicians, Chisholm faced her share of criticism for her views and her actions or inactions, and it took its toll. One of the significant things she did was run for the Democratic nomination for president in the 1972 election. I found this biography to be interesting in both its subject matter and its presentation. The back matter is extensive with a bibliography, author's note, and epilogue. As she usually does, Bolden has created a fascinating account of a woman who had the courage and determination to fight for what she believed in.
February 20, 2023
Great quick read! Her story is inspiring and she is an inspiration to so many.
July 8, 2026
A really accessible biography of Shirley Chisholm for young readers. My 10-year-old son listened to the audiobook with me, and was interested the whole time.
January 25, 2023
Tonya Bolden’s biography of Shirley Chisholm is a perfect mix of historical remembrance as well as narrative structure to pull the reader in. You follow Shirley’s life as she goes against all odds and fights her way through politics, all while never losing her morals or remembrance of where she came from. As someone who knew of Chisholm but not specifics and boy, is she phenomenal! I highly recommend reading this book to learn more about this pioneer of civil and feminist rights.
Also, I read this book at the right time for me. As a Floridian going through an election, a reminder of hope is always needed. And Shirley Chisholm, her fight and success, and resilience shows that there have always been times to fight and there are always others that need to fight more.
Full review with teaching tools: https://www.unleashingreaders.com/25768
Also, I read this book at the right time for me. As a Floridian going through an election, a reminder of hope is always needed. And Shirley Chisholm, her fight and success, and resilience shows that there have always been times to fight and there are always others that need to fight more.
Full review with teaching tools: https://www.unleashingreaders.com/25768
April 16, 2023
An excellent biography of Shirley Chisholm, aimed middle grade and independent young readers.
I only knew of Shirley Chisholm by her stats as the first black woman elected to the House of Representatives and as the first black woman to run for President from a major political party. The biography is short and relatively surface-level, but I learned a lot more about Shirley Chisholm and about my country. I really knew nothing about all her work for students’ education and for schools providing meals for those children in need in NYC.
I definitely recommend this book, especially as a gift to young readers.
I only knew of Shirley Chisholm by her stats as the first black woman elected to the House of Representatives and as the first black woman to run for President from a major political party. The biography is short and relatively surface-level, but I learned a lot more about Shirley Chisholm and about my country. I really knew nothing about all her work for students’ education and for schools providing meals for those children in need in NYC.
I definitely recommend this book, especially as a gift to young readers.
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