Shirley Chisholm: A Biography

by Susan Brownmiller

A biography of the New York politician who was the first black woman to be elected to the United States Congress.

Genres: African American, Womens Studies, Biography

145 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1900

About the author

Susan Brownmiller was an American journalist, author and feminist activist best known for her 1975 book Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape, which was selected by The New York Public Library as one of the 100 most important books of the 20th century.

Reviews

[Terri Strange · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is written simply for young adults and as such was a pleasant and quick read - taking the reader on a journey through the life and political background of Shirley Chisholm up to her 2nd term in Congress. It is charming and quaint in it’s approach to the severity of the issues that spurred Chisholm to fight for change. It is a good introduction to one of the most important women in American history.

[Sheri Lutz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointing, given the reputation of both the author and subject. I started reading it during lulls in DFL convention!

[Eden Hazardelirium · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book might be fine for those who are just starting to learn about the American political system and the figures in it. Unfortunately, it doesn't include much about Representative Chisholm herself. While it starts off telling a bit about her childhood in Barbados (the most interesting and charming part of the story) it skims over most of her life from there in favor of the barest outline of her political career. In fact, the dramatic events of the 1968 Democratic Convention are given a single paragraph, the Vietnam War is mentioned only in passing, and neither Black Americans' fight for civil rights nor women's liberation are mentioned at all. It's strange reading such an ahistorical account of a time period where so much social change was happening, especially when written about one of the biggest figures of and influences on that change. If you really want to know what Representative Chisholm was like, what she faced as the first Black woman elected to Congress, and how she interacted with the stunning events of her time, find a different book to read.

[Larisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shirley Chisholm, is a must read from a historical perspective.

Taken from her 1967 campaign slogan for Congress: "Unbought and Unbossed." Mrs. Chisholm was not an ordinary politician of the day. She was outspoken as the first black woman political leader to crack the gender barrier of Washington

Her legacy is that she challenged the status quo for politics and civil rights.


Chisholm was both a genteel woman educated at a young age on the island of Barbados, and a fighter from the streets of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, NY. She described herself as the "little woman who didn't know how to play the game or when to shut up." Later she writes." I don't [play by the rules] because I don't choose to. It is not because I don't know what the rules are."

[Amanda Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm embarrassed to say I'd not heard of Shirley Chisolm. Embarrassed as I am interested in women and black people in politics. SC was the first black woman elected to the US Congress in November 1968.
This little book published in 1972 (now out of print I think) is a concise, plain, informative, no-frills biography.