Shirley Chisholm

Celebrating Black Americans’ Commitment to Democracy—From Jesse Jackson to Dorothy Height to Shirley Chisholm

PUBLISHED 2/20/2026 by

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation in politics, on boards, in sports and entertainment, in judicial offices and in the private sector in the U.S. and around the world—with a little gardening and goodwill mixed in for refreshment!

This week:
—We celebrate the impact of Jesse Jackson.
—A new poll shows that Kamala Harris would defeat Donald Trump in a rematch.
—What the Heritage Foundation’s war on gender equality means for women’s representation.

… and more.

The Revolution Will Be Digitized: Online Ms. Archive Coming This Summer

PUBLISHED 6/25/2025 by

Partnering with ProQuest’s powerhouse archive platform, Ms. is releasing more than 50 years of ground-breaking articles, thought-provoking essays and history-making journalism. The Archive features intuitive navigation, fully searchable text and archive-level metadata, including article titles, authors and dates.

Cover-to-cover, full-color digitization preserves Ms.’ impactful graphic design, which functioned as the conduit and amplifier of the magazine’s content through engaging photographs, illustrations and layouts.

The revelatory rollout of this comprehensive digitized archive of contemporary feminism arrives at a germane moment as women’s hard-won gains are being pushed into the past. But it was in the past when women first won these battles, making the Ms. Magazine Archive an indispensable guide.

Complete Ms. Magazine Archive Now Available Digitally—Free to Students, Educators and Activists Through University and Public Libraries

PUBLISHED 5/31/2025 by

For the first time ever, every issue of Ms. magazine—from its historic debut in 1972 to today—is available in a fully digitized, searchable, high-resolution format. The newly launched Ms. Magazine Archive offers unprecedented digital access to over five decades of feminist journalism, activism and scholarship.

This groundbreaking collection is set to transform how feminism and social change are taught and studied. With its extensive coverage of gender justice movements—past and present—the Ms. archive provides rich, accessible content and a powerful set of pedagogical tools for courses in women’s and gender studies, history, political science, media studies, journalism and more.

Democracy, Divestment and the Power to Choose Liberation: On Cultivating ‘the Menopausal Multiverse’

PUBLISHED 4/22/2025 by | UPDATED 2/10/2026 at 8:05 A.M. PT

It’s time we reimagine menopause as an expansive, intersectional journey through radical divestment and collective empowerment for all marginalized voices.

Ultimately, our goal is to ensure that nobody’s menopause experience is overlooked or left behind, and that requires us to break from the mainstream “landscape” and forge an empowering community of our own.

(This essay is part of a collection presented by Ms. and the Groundswell Fund.)

The SAVE Act’s Impact on Women Voters Isn’t a Coincidence. It’s Voter Suppression.

PUBLISHED 3/26/2025 by | UPDATED 2/11/2026 at 11:38 A.M. PT

Women—especially Black women—are still fighting for equal rights and opportunities in the U.S. Meanwhile, members of Congress are threatening to undermine the hard-fought, fundamental right to vote for all Americans, including millions of women, under the guise of misleading allegations of voter fraud. And they’re ironically calling it the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act.

Make no mistake: The SAVE Act is not going to “save” anything. This legislation would create unnecessary barriers to registering to vote in every state. It would require all voters to provide proof of citizenship documents in person when registering to vote or updating their registration—provisions that effectively end online, automatic, and mail-in voter registration. Women who change their name after marriage or divorce would face unnecessary barriers to registering to vote.

How Diahann Carrol and Shirley Chisholm Reshaped Politics: An Excerpt from ‘A More Perfect Party’

PUBLISHED 1/17/2025 by

An excerpt from Juanita Tolliver’s A More Perfect Party: The Night Shirley Chisholm and Diahann Carrol Reshaped Politics, a story of how the first Black woman to star in a network sitcom teamed up with the first Black woman to run for president in order to spark change.

“Diahann Carroll knew how to throw a party. On the cool evening of April 29, 1972, Carroll’s estate was bursting with celebrity, exuberance and history in support of the first Black person, and the first woman, to seek the Democratic nomination for president. The Welcome to Hollywood party for the Honorable Shirley Chisholm, U.S. representative of New York, was kicking into high gear.”

Celebrating Black Women Trailblazers—From Shirley Chisholm to Marsha P. Johnson: Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation

PUBLISHED 2/4/2022 by
Celebrating Black Women Trailblazers—From Shirley Chisholm to Marsha P. Johnson: Weekend Reading on Women's Representation

Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation.

This week: highlighting Shirley Chisolm, Marsha P. Johnson, Angela Davis and Barbara Jordan; notable Black women express support for President Biden’s commitment to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court; Biden’s continued reliance on the old-boys network; the power of incumbency for women in politics; feminist and women’s movements on the frontlines against rising authoritarianism and militarization; women’s representation and political power in the European Parliament; 50 years of Title IX; and more.

Today in Feminist History: Shirley Chisholm is Running for President!

PUBLISHED 1/25/2020 by

January 25, 1972: What up until now has been a traditional “Old White Boys Club” of candidates seeking this year’s Presidential nomination had to make room for a Black woman member today as Representative Shirley Chisholm (D-NY), the first Black women ever elected to Congress, officially announced that she was running for the Democratic nomination for President.