Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm, an American politician, was an avid supporter of equal rights of all races and sexes. Shirley Chisholm is best known for becoming the first African American women in Congress. She then went on to run in the 1972 presidential election as a Democratic candidate, making Chisholm the first major party African American woman to run (Ford 110). Soon after, she became an inspiration to many women of color around the nation. Throughout her political career, Chisholm gave many speeches on equal rights and social justice. On August 10, 1970, in Washington D.C., Chisholm delivered one of her most compelling speeches, For the Equal Rights Amendment, in front of Congress and the House of Representatives. In this speech she …show more content…
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, feminists sought ratification of the amendment seeing as it was the only way to gain equality among both genders. In order for the proposal to pass, it needed three-fourths vote by state legislatures. Richard Nixon was president at the time and campaigned as a supporter of equal rights; however, he did little to push the amendment forward once he was elected. It took people like Shirley Chisholm to speak for the importance of it and spread awareness. On the day Chisholm delivered her speech, the House of Representatives voted to approve the resolution. (CITATION) Despite the great efforts of many, the ratification fell short because the amendment had only been ratified by 35 states, leaving it three states short of the 38 that was necessary to place it in the …show more content…
Throughout the speech, she appeals to the representatives’ guilt by emphasizing that these laws “worked a hardship on women who need or want to work overtime and on women who need or want better jobs” (8). She ridicules and guilts those who agree to limit women’s occupations, dismiss them to jobs with low wages that have minimal opportunities for promotions, and argues “working conditions and hours that are harmful to women are harmful to men” (16). Chisholm conveyed to her audience these hardships experienced by both women and men to hopefully drive them feel