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People in America - Shirley Chisholm, 1924-2005: The First Black Woman Elected to the U.S. Congress

She was an activist1 who worked to improve the lives of others. Transcript2 of radio broadcast:

01 March 2008

VOICE ONE:

I’m Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Barbara Klein with People in America in VOA Special English. Today we tell about Shirley Chisholm. She was an educator, activist and politician.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Shirley Chisholm is best known as the first black woman elected to United States Congress and the first black woman to run for president of the United States. However, her life was filled with much more than being the first black woman to do important things. She believed in being a person to fight for change. All her life, she worked to improve the lives of others.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Shirley Anita Saint Hill was born in Brooklyn, New York in nineteen twenty-four. She was the oldest of four daughters. Her father was a factory worker from Guyana. He loved to read. Her mother was from the British West Indies island of Barbados. She made clothes and cleaned other people’s houses.

Shirley’s parents had very little money. They wanted their daughters to get a good education and to have a better life. When Shirley was three years old her parents sent her and her sisters to live with their grandmother in Barbados.

Shirley received a good education from the British school system. She enjoyed the years she lived with her grandmother. Her family in Barbados was a strong, organized group that believed in education. Shirley always remembered the words her grandmother spoke3.

SHIRLEY CHISHOLM:

“When I was reared in the British West Indies my grandmother used to always tell me, you may not be loved by certain forces in a society and you have to understand why. But always speak the truth.”

VOICE ONE:

In nineteen thirty-four Shirley moved back to Brooklyn. She was ten years old. She continued to do very well in school. She later graduated from Brooklyn College with honors. In nineteen forty-nine, she married Conrad Chisholm who worked as a private investigator4. Together they took part in local politics. Their marriage ended almost thirty years later.

As a young woman, Shirley decided5 to become a teacher. She believed she could improve society by helping6 children. She worked for seven years at a child care center in the Harlem area of New York City. She attended Columbia University at night and received an advanced degree in early childhood education in nineteen fifty-two. She became known as an expert in children and early education. From nineteen fifty-nine to nineteen sixty-four Shirley Chisholm was an education official in the day care division of the city’s office of child welfare.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

In ninety sixty-four Shirley Chisholm’s political career began. She was elected to the New York State Assembly. She served for four years.

In nineteen sixty-eight she announced she would run for the United States Congress. She was elected from the newly created Twelfth District of New York City. She became the first black woman elected to Congress. She represented a poor area of Brooklyn called Bedford-Stuyvesant.

In Congress, Miz Chisholm was assigned to the House Agriculture Committee. She protested this assignment. She felt it was not important to the poor people of the city that she represented. She was moved to the Veterans Affairs Committee. She later served on the Education and Labor7 Committee, the position she wanted. In nineteen seventy-seven she joined the important House Rules Committee.

VOICE ONE:

Shirley Chisholm was very different from other members of Congress. She looked different. Her hair was a big cloud of curls. She wore very large eyeglasses. And she had dark skin.

She also spoke differently. She had developed a minor8 Caribbean accent while living with her grandmother in Barbados. Her voice was strong. She spoke with power. She said her greatest tool was her mouth. She was not afraid to say the things others would not say before Congress and the public.

SHIRLEY CHISHOLM:

“But, my friends, I might be strong for some persons in this audience, but I believe in telling it like it is.”

VOICE TWO:

Shirley Chisholm spoke strongly for the poor and for women. She worked for civil rights for African Americans. She opposed the Vietnam War. In nineteen sixty-nine she helped form the Congressional Black Caucus9. She also was a member of the National Organization for Women. Miz Chisholm was an activist for people of color, including Native Americans and Spanish-speaking immigrants. She often spoke about cultural and social issues.

SHIRLEY CHISHOLM:

“Increasing immigration to the United States suggests that we do face ( -- and we better own up to – we do face) new social and cultural problems as these new Americans are integrated into our society. And because most of the new immigrants are people of color, cultural adjustments must be made by all groups in America if we are to learn to live together as one nation.”

VOICE ONE:

Miz Chisholm wrote a book about her life in nineteen seventy called “Unbought and Unbossed.” She refused to be defined by party politics or racial comparisons. Sometimes this worked against her.

In nineteen seventy-two Shirley Chisholm announced that she would run for president of the United States. Many people thought it was a strange thing to do. Miz Chisholm said during her life in politics she faced more discrimination as a woman than as a black person.

Shirley Chisholm became the first woman and the first black person to carry out a presidential campaign within one of the major parties. When she announced her candidacy for the Democratic Party nomination10 for president this is what she said: “I am not the candidate of black America, although I am black and proud. I am not the candidate of the women’s movement of this country, although I am a woman and I am equally proud of that. I am not the candidate of any political bosses or special interests. I am the candidate of the people.”

Miz Chisholm did not win the Democratic primaries or the nomination. She said she did not run for president because she expected to win. She ran to make a point.

In nineteen seventy-three Shirley Chisholm wrote another book, “The Good Fight.” In that book she told of her reasons for running for president even though she did not expect to win. She said: “The next time a woman runs, or a black, or a Jew or anyone from a group that the country is ‘not ready’ to elect to the highest office, I believe he or she will be taken seriously from the start.”

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Shirley Chisholm left Congress in nineteen eighty-two after fourteen years. She said many voters did not understand her. She said her influence as a truthful11, tough politician was decreasing in conservative times. Also, she wanted to spend more time with her second husband, Arthur Hardwick.

Miz Chisholm went on to teach at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. Years after leaving Congress, she continued to be invited to speak before many groups and organizations.

A reporter once asked Miz Chisholm how she wanted to be remembered. She said she did not want to be remembered as the nation’s first black congresswoman. She wanted to be remembered as a brave person, a person who created change.

VOICE ONE:

Shirley Chisholm died January first, two thousand five. She suffered a series of strokes. She was eighty years old.

Shirley Chisholm loved her country. She wanted to serve all America, not just African Americans and women. Her work for the community of Bedford-Stuyvesant, the state of New York and the nation continues through the changes she helped make in American society.

SHIRLEY CHISHOLM:

“America is a wonderful land. It’s no question about it. That is why every group from across the waters tries to come to America. I am hopeful. Oh God am I hopeful that before I die that I will see that America will move toward a period of real enlightenment (not rhetorical enlightenment, real enlightenment), and that when we are finally faced with the choice of exclusion12 or inclusion we will choose inclusion because that’s what America is suppose to be all about.”

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

This program was written and produced by Lawan Davis. I’m Barbara Klein.

VOICE ONE:

And I’m Steve Ember. Join us again next week for People in America in VOA Special English.

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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 activist gyAzO     
n.活动分子,积极分子
参考例句:
  • He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
  • He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。
2 transcript JgpzUp     
n.抄本,誊本,副本,肄业证书
参考例句:
  • A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
  • They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。
3 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
4 investigator zRQzo     
n.研究者,调查者,审查者
参考例句:
  • He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
  • The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。
5 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
6 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
7 labor P9Tzs     
n.劳动,努力,工作,劳工;分娩;vi.劳动,努力,苦干;vt.详细分析;麻烦
参考例句:
  • We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
  • He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后,他已经疲惫不堪了。
8 minor e7fzR     
adj.较小(少)的,较次要的;n.辅修学科;vi.辅修
参考例句:
  • The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
  • I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。
9 caucus Nrozd     
n.秘密会议;干部会议;v.(参加)干部开会议
参考例句:
  • This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
  • It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。
10 nomination BHMxw     
n.提名,任命,提名权
参考例句:
  • John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
  • Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。
11 truthful OmpwN     
adj.真实的,说实话的,诚实的
参考例句:
  • You can count on him for a truthful report of the accident.你放心,他会对事故作出如实的报告的。
  • I don't think you are being entirely truthful.我认为你并没全讲真话。
12 exclusion 1hCzz     
n.拒绝,排除,排斥,远足,远途旅行
参考例句:
  • Don't revise a few topics to the exclusion of all others.不要修改少数论题以致排除所有其他的。
  • He plays golf to the exclusion of all other sports.他专打高尔夫球,其他运动一概不参加。

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