LOOKING BEYOND HER POLITICAL SYMBOLISM TO CELEBRATE NOT ONLY WHO SHIRLEY CHISHOLM WAS BUT WHO SHE IS—A REVOLUTIONARY THINKER WITH MUCH TO TEACH US TODAY

In the midst of her groundbreaking twenty-year career in the U.S. House of Representatives, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm once declared, “Everyone—with the exception of the black woman herself—has been interpreting the black woman.” Edited and introduced by Zinga A. Fraser, Shirley Chisholm in Her Own Words gives readers a rare opportunity to engage with the congresswoman’s powerful ideas in her own voice.

Many Americans are familiar with Chisholm’s importance as the first Black woman in Congress and the first woman and African American to run for president with either major party. This long-overdue treatment of her work establishes Chisholm as an unparalleled public intellectual, powerful orator, and Black feminist both in her time and now. It introduces a new generation to one of the most impactful proponents of democracy in America.

“A timely, detailed, and inspiring book that helps maintain the intellectual legacy of Shirley Chisholm. The book reveals new dimensions of the congresswoman’s politics, activism, and spirit.”—Regina King, Academy Award–winning actor, and producer and star of Shirley