In 1968, Chisholm became the first African American woman to serve as a U.S. representative, for New York’s 12th District; an early scene in “Shirley” depicts the Brooklyn politician ...

Samara Joy has taken a detour from jazz with her new song “Why I’m Here,” featured as part of the upcoming Netflix film “Shirley” about the first Black congresswoman Shirley Chisholm.

At a glance, Shirley Chisholm’s 1972 campaign for president was the definition of quixotic. She was 47 years old; at the time, she had served only one term (starting in 1968) as the first Black ...