Witness History
Witness History
Shirley Chisholm - the black woman who tried to be president
Up next
October 27, 2020
10 minutes
Available for over a year
In January 1972 Shirley Chisholm became the first major-party black candidate to make a bid for the US Presidency. She was also the first black woman elected to Congress. In 2015, Farhana Haider spoke to former Congressman Charles Rangel who worked with Shirley Chisholm.
(Photo: Shirley Chisholm at the Democratic National Convention in 1972. Credit: Getty Images)