Shirley Chisholm

Shirley Chisholm is an incredibly important person to NWPC because she was one of our founding members in 1971. In 1968, Chisholm became the first black woman elected to Congress, representing New York’s 12th district. In 1972, she became the first black woman to run for the Democratic Party’s nomination for President. Her focuses included opportunities for inner-city residents, land rights for Indigenous Peoples, supporting social services, and ways to fight back against discrimination against women, particularly impoverished women. At the NWPC 1973 convention, Chisholm said that women of color were faced with “double discrimination” and that the women’s movement should adjust accordingly in order to better advocate for those women.