Shirley Chisholm, first African American woman to be elected to Congress was born in Brooklyn on November 30, 1924. She is one of the most profound and admired women that challenged society not only as a woman, but a woman of color. She made many contributions to the women's movement and society. Shirley began her interest in politics in the 1940's. She attended political clubs where community members met with the assemblyman and committee to discuss problems with the city. Shirley began to notice the differences in which the way white people and black people were treated. The room was divided by the color of skin. Blacks on one side and whites on the other. At the end of each meeting there was time for questions by the audience though many times people would not ask anything. However, Shirley was not pleased at the way the council was treating the community and questioned the members. She asked why the white neighborhoods had regular trash pick up where as the black neighborhoods did not. Her questions were not popular with the committee, but she continued to stand up for the indifferences found in the segregated communities (Chisholm 30). For the time period that Shirley was growing up in, it is remarkable that she had the courage to stand up for her beliefs. Strong minded and determined she challenged society. She was not able to stay quiet and keep her thoughts to herself; instead she spoke her mind. It seemed the harder society tried to suppress, the stronger she became. Perhaps being a woman of color she felt compelled to voice her opinion (Yuval-Davis 77). She stated that "My goal was to shake things up a little"(Chisholm 161). Not only did she shake things up, she helped to pave a path for generations of women to come. She opened the door of opportunities for the American people.In the late 1950's Shirley worked with child care facilities. She temporarily stepped aside from politics and was more focused on t...
