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At the 2003 APSA meeting, we had a panel on this same issue with
most of the original panelist. Our task today is to update our
presentations and to see how things turned out. Last year I said that
although we tend to think of Jesse Jackson’s 1984 and 1988 presidential
campaigns as the first “serious” black presidential contender, we tend to
forget Shriley Chisholm’s run in 1972. Chisholm was serious about her
bid and stayed in the race through the presidential primaries and into the
Democractic convention. Much happened to Chisholm during her run and
one of the questions that was of interest to me was how much have things
changed from 1972 to 2003 concerning the candidacy of a black female
contender for a presidential nomination, given that Carol Moseley Braun
had thrown her hat into the Democratic presidential ring? I wondered if
black Americans would see a black female as a serious contender? Or,
would many support a black male regardless of the qualifications of the
black female? I did not have answers to these questions then but thought
that we might be able to identify incidents that might give us some sense
of what the outcome might be. Moreover, I am not sure that we have the
answers now after-the-fact.
Shirley
Chisholm
Retired Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm ran for president in 1972
on a Democratic party ticket. She entered the race after no woman or
black chose to run for the nomination. Her goal was never to win, but
Convention