MITCHELL |
WRIGHT |
FULANI |
MASTERS |
ROCKER |
MCKINNEY |
MOOREHEAD |
BRAUN |
who has ability , guts , leadership , talent , honesty , sincerity and who refuses to indulge in sham and hypocrisy ,” said Chisholm , who held four college degrees and had an IQ of 170 .
But at the 1972 Democratic convention , Chisholm attracted few backers and garnered only 152 delegates . Sen . George McGovern , D-South Dakota , won the nomination with 1,728 delegates , in part because of the substantial Black support that he received . Asked by a reporter why so many of her Black male congressional colleagues sided with her White male opponent , Chisholm declared : “ What makes you think Black male politicians are any different from White male politicians ? This ‘ woman thing ’ is so deep . I ’ ve found it out in this campaign if I never knew it before .”
While Chisholm didn ’ t win her presidential bid , she blazed a path that would help other Black women candidates endure , if not avoid , the adverse impact of voter perceptions warped by deeply rooted prejudice and hate .
As The New York Times seemed to suggest that Chisholm did not “ look presidential ” enough she responded with this simple embrace of her appearance . “ I ’ m Black and I ’ m proud ,” she said . But in the end , Chisholm couldn ’ t garner enough support to win her the Democratic Party ’ s presidential nomination .
Shirley Chisholm died in 2005 at age 80 .
Since 1968 , 10 Black women , including Harris and Chisholm , have run for president of the United States . Remarkably , all of them pledged to fight for justice , equal rights and economic opportunity for all this nation ’ s citizens . And each of them paid special attention to the suffering of poor people , especially the worst off among them – Black women and children .
Charlene Mitchell , a 32-year-old political activist from Cincinnati , became the nation ’ s first Black woman presidential candidate in 1968 . She was a member of the Communist Party . Her name appeared on the ballots in two states , and she received just over 1,000 votes .
Mitchell died in 2022 at age 92 .
Margaret Wright ran for president in 1976 . She was the candidate of the People ’ s Party – an anti-war party that first fielded a presidential candidate in
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