On November 5, 1968, voters in Brooklyn, New York, made their voices heard as Shirley Chisholm, a former educator, became the first Black woman elected to Congress.
After her historic win, she shared with her constituents what her victory meant for them: “A voice that shall be your voice in the halls of the United States Congress.”
Chisholm had spent the campaign taking her message directly to voters. She pulled up outside housing projects in a sound truck and spoke Spanish to reach Puerto Rican voters in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Her opponent, James Farmer, a well-known civil rights leader, argued that the district needed a man’s voice in Washington. The people thought differently. Chisholm won with 67 percent of the vote.
EBONY featured Chisholm in cover stories in 1969 and 2024. The “Black Joan of Arc” would go on to make a historic bid in the 1972 presidential election as the first Black woman from a major party to seek the nomination.
Now the 2026 midterms have produced another first. When the 120th Congress convenes in January 2027, three Black women will serve together in the U.S. Senate for the first time. Illinois Senator-elect Juliana Stratton will join Maryland’s Angela Alsobrooks and Delaware’s Lisa Blunt Rochester. In the House, Melat Kiros will become the first Black woman to represent Colorado in Congress. The House will continue to feature a record number of Black women in its chambers.
Shirley Chisholm: On Stage
One creator is doing her part to keep Chisholm’s legacy front and center. Storyteller Ingrid Griffith is the artist behind Shirley Chisholm: Unbossed & Unbowed, a one-woman show she wrote and stars in, now playing at New York’s West End Theatre.
“I was only a teenager when I saw Shirley Chisholm on television. As a Black youth, Chisholm was a formidable figure to me,” Griffith told EBONY. “Years later, after seeing a documentary on Chisholm, I learned she was one of 30 candidates vying for the Democratic nomination for President. This story—a woman facing extreme challenges in gaining a voice and advocating for change—inspired me to research further.”
Griffith was drawn to Chisholm’s Caribbean upbringing and the imagery that shaped her desire to serve others.
“Witnessing Black individuals in leadership roles such as government officials, doctors, lawyers, and newspaper editors gave Chisholm a strong sense of possibility,” she explained. “This environment supported her later belief that running for president was not unrealistic, but a legitimate ambition grounded in her lived experience. She was fierce, a visionary, and a leader able to form coalitions.”
As for what Ms. Chisholm would say about this historic moment in American politics, 58 years after her own history-making contribution, Griffith stated: “She’d say, ‘It’s about time that women are recognized and serve as leaders!’ She would also reiterate that women in leadership may contribute uniquely positive attributes to governance and that these attributes include empathy, pursuit of peace, and collaborative efforts for humanity’s benefit.”
Shirley Chisholm: Unbossed & Unbowed plays through December 7 at the West End Theatre. Tickets are available at backdoorproductions.ludus.com.