Chisholm, Shirley
1924-2005 · Contribution: 1968-1972
Law & Civil Rights
First Black woman elected to the U.S. Congress; first Black candidate to seek a major party's presidential nomination
Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Quick facts
- Born
- 1924-2005
- Category
- Law & Civil Rights
Impact on the world
Chisholm redefined who could run for the nation's highest office, breaking barriers of both race and gender and inspiring generations of women and Black Americans to seek power.
Sources
- Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
1 more sources and references are available to members.
More in Law & Civil Rights
Allen, Macon Bolling
1816-1894
First African American lawyer in the United States (1844); among the earliest Black judicial officeholders (Justice of the Peace, 1847)
Bedford, Louis A. Jr.
1926-2014
First African American judge in Dallas County, Texas
Bolin, Jane Matilda
1908-2007
First Black woman to become a judge in the United States
Booker, Cory Anthony
1969-
First African American U.S. senator from New Jersey