Shirley (2024)

Shirley Chisholm (1924-2005) was the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Congress in 1968, and in 1972, she became the first Black candidate from a major party to run for U.S. president and the first woman to run for the Democratic Party’s nomination for U.S. president. So the biopic Shirley (2024) is pretty damn appropriate to review today, when America has the potential of electing our first Black female president, Kamala Harris.

The movie was announced in early 2021, with filming completed in early 2022, obviously well before Harris’ candidacy, and she had just become vice president. And yet the parallels between Chisholm’s run for the highest office in the land and Harris’ are clear and biting, despite 52 years between their campaigns. For example, Chisholm said later in life:

“When I ran for the Congress, when I ran for president, I met more discrimination as a woman than for being black. Men are men.”

This sexism plays out again and again in the film, where she’s undercut and betrayed by men who are looking out for their own interests, not what’s better for the community.

This Netflix-produced movie focuses narrowly on Chisholm’s 1972 campaign for president, and while that may seem limiting, this does mean the film avoids the problem of spreading itself too thin like some biographic frock flicks do. There’s just enough of the political machinations to give the show some depth, and plenty of Chisholm’s actual words to give it authenticity. Regina King’s performance as Shirley is commanding, truly embodying the real woman’s “unbought and unbossed” motto but also showing subtle details the indicate her Barbados childhood and schoolteacher career before Congress. The emotional toll the campaign takes on her is also hinted at, though Shirley’s iron core of strength is at the forefront.

And yes, the time period of this flick breaks my own rule about the setting needs to be before I was born — but I’m the Editor in Chief, I can break the rules every now and then! I also have some personal connections to the topic, starting with my mom always telling me how she voted for Shirley Chisholm. Given that we lived in Florida at the time, this makes sense as that was one of the first places Chisholm actively campaigned, and the film points this out. There’s even a scene of Chisholm talking to a group at Florida State University with a few Asian-American faces in the background, and I’m going to pretend that’s a nod to my mom and aunt.

As Chisholm’s campaign moves forward, she goes to California and speaks at Mills College, where she meets Barbara Lee (played by Christina Jackson). Their scenes together are wonderful, showing how Shirley Chisholm was a mentor to Lee, encouraging the young radical to work within the system to build solid change. Barbara Lee did go on to be elected in the state assembly and senate, and, since 1998, she’s been a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. In 2001, Lee was the only member of Congress to vote against authorizing use of military force for George W. Bush’s Iraq War, and for the past 5 years since I moved to Oakland, I’ve been proud to have her as my representative in Congress.

Being set in the late 1960s / early 1970s, the costumes aren’t the most fascinating to me (not like the politics!), but costume designer Megan “Bijou” Coates did an excellent job recreating iconic looks of the time. She reminds us that Shirley Chisholm was a hero by showing that this woman wore a cape on her first day in Congress! The costume designer told IndieWire:

“It’s the cape. It’s all the elements of the costume: The gloves, the little fascinator, the boots. It evokes the power she had and the confidence she had in herself. It feels like she’s a superhero coming to save the day.”

Chisholm really did wear that cape and the hat, although these photos are from her campaigning for Congress:

Another recreated outfit is this blue and white print suit:

Even got the necklace!

In IndieWire, the costume designer also talked about the scene where Shirley Chisholm meets the Black Panther Party leader, Huey P. Newton, at the Los Angeles house of actor Diahann Carroll. Megan Coates said of Chisholm’s gold-buttoned suit:

 “I wanted it to feel somewhat militaristic because she’s opposite Huey Newton. He was militaristic in his thinking, so it was important for her to feel strong and powerful, playing opposite him.”

Politicians, especially female politicians, know their clothes can send a message. The costumes in this movie reinforce that idea.

Being the main character, Shirley Chisholm had over 40 costume changes, and while many things were custom-built for the film, some vintage items were used too. On her Instagram, Coates talks about searching through costume rental houses and finding this last outfit Shirley wears in the film:

“Buried deep in a corner was this incredible vintage house dress. Because I’d already spent weeks in research mode, the chills immediately set in. I was holding what appeared to be an almost exact match to the house dress Shirley wore in her hotel room at the Democratic National Convention in 1972. I’m sure it wasn’t the same dress, but it was most certainly from the same designer/collection. What’s more, it was in wonderful condition & it fit Regina beautifully with very little alterations needed. It felt like a true needle in the haystack moment. From then on, I was convinced that Shirley was with us, guiding us along in our efforts.”

In her presidential announcement, Shirley Chisholm proclaimed:

“I am not the candidate of black America, although I am black and proud. I am not the candidate of the women’s movement of this country, although I am a woman and equally proud of that. I am the candidate of the people and my presence before you symbolizes a new era in American political history.”

This scene is replicated in the movie, and I hope it’s essence can be replicated in America again.

Have you seen Shirley? Have you voted yet?

Find this frock flick at: