POLITICAL PIONEERS OF AMERICA

As the United States draws closer to another presidential election we wanted to take a look back at some of the people who broke important milestones in US politics. Whether representing underserved communities or ethnic minorities, these political figures were the first to break through and achieve their goals. For some this was a short-lived success, perhaps even ignominious by our modern standards, for others it was a lifelong commitment to service, but each of them helped to inspire someone who came after and opened the door to greater representation for all.

SHIRLEY CHISHOLM

FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN AND FIRST WOMAN TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT WITH DEMOCRATS

DATES: 1924-2005

PARTY: Democratic

IN OFFICE: N/A

STATE: New York

Shirley Chisholm can claim a number of firsts, but the most prominent and powerful was her 1972 run for the Democratic Party nomination for president. She wasn’t the first African American woman to run for president of the United States (that would be the Communist Party’s Charlene Mitchell who ran in 1968), but by challenging for the backing of one of the two major parties, her campaign was more substantive.

Chisholm shot to prominence in the Democratic Party when she became the first African American woman elected to Congress in 1968, representing Brooklyn, New York, the district in which she had been born 44 years earlier. She had started her career in teaching, but moved into education administration for New York City before being