Black Feminism on Capitol Hill

Abstract

Shirley Chisholm (1924–2005) conducted a long political career in the service of black feminist ideas. Her 1972 run for President is the most famous of her efforts, but she also served fourteen years in Congress (1969–1983), serving Brooklyn, New York. As a holder of national elected office at the same time that black feminists were institutionalizing their activism into organizations, Chisholm bridged grassroots and local activism with the national state. She also bridged the ongoing black freedom struggle and women's movements, though not without complication and controversy. This essay uses Chisholm's writings and speeches, as well as government documents, newspaper archives, and interviews to demonstrate Chisholm's dual engagement with the antiracist and antifeminist movements of her time within the context of legislative politics.

“What is Our City Doing for Us?”: Placing Collective Care into Atlanta’s Post‐Public Housing Movements

“…Black women began leading care‐based housing battles following the expansion of Atlanta’s urban renewal programme. Although long‐tasked with the underpaid and marginalised care work that supports cities and communities, Black women were least likely to be recipients of and party to the policies and collective action that allocated care (Cohen 2005; Curwood 2015; Emejulu and Bassel 2018; Hunter 1997). Since the New Deal expansion of the welfare state that excluded positions predominantly filled by Black care workers from entitlement benefits such as social security, Black women have faced disproportionate burdens to access public benefits (Baldwin 2010; Nadasen 2002; Rodems and Shaefer 2016).…”

Black Girl Gone: Misogynoir, Hypervisibility, and Black Women

“…This hypervisibility has sexually commodified some Black women for market exchange even while being unjustly targeted by sexist and racist attacks (Mowatt et al, 2013). This double jeopardy, coined by Shirley Chisholm, of intersecting identities places Black women in inferior categories, rationalizes our murders, and dehumanizes our experiences (Curwood, 2015). Viewing the various recordings of Black death daily has made the media desensitized to some of the experiences of being a Black woman.…”