Entire Unit
Standards Alignment
ADL is pleased to offer a lesson plan that pays tribute to the life and accomplishments of Shirley Chisholm. In November 1968, just seven months after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Shirley Chisholm became the first black woman elected to Congress, bringing new hope and renewed strength in the struggle for civil rights.
This unit offers high school students an opportunity to learn about Shirley Chisholm, a civil rights leader and the first African American woman elected to Congress. Students will learn more about her life and accomplishments, explore some of the civil rights and other social issues the country faced in the 1960s and 1970s, examine Chisholm’s dedication to women’s rights issues and gain insight into her personality and passions by reading and analyzing quotes.