PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A one-woman show coming to West Philadelphia tells the story of a historical figure often left out of history books.
In 1972, Shirley Chisholm became the first African American to run for a major party’s presidential nomination, and the first woman to run for the Democratic nomination, but most Americans don’t know her story.
“I started this project after seeing a documentary about the 1972 campaign … and I couldn’t believe I had never heard much about her,” said Ingrid Griffith, who tells Chisholm’s whole story — from her childhood through her civil rights activism and her presidential campaign — in her one-woman show, titled, “Shirley Chisholm: Unbossed & Unbowed.”
Chisholm’s story began much earlier.
“She was born in 1924,” said Griffith. “During the Great Depression, her immigrant parents sent her to live with a maternal grandmother in Barbados. She was 3 years old and she stayed there until she was age 10, when she came back.”
The award-winning show describes Chisholm as the “Black Joan of Arc” who “called herself ‘fighting’ Shirley as she faced off against the political machine in the name of justice.”
The stage play explores why Chisholm chose to fight for the disenfranchised, what it took for her to win a seat in Congress in 1968, and what pushed her to run for the highest office in 1972.
Griffith made the show interactive and engaging to appeal to children.
“I’m speaking to the audience,” she said. “If a child reacts, [my character will] go up to them and respond. So it’s like we’re having a conversation.”
She said people of all ages should know this story.
“This is American history,” Griffith said. “A lot of young people must know this story, especially at this time. When there's so much misinformation and history being banned and obliterated and revised, we need to tell this story even more.”
Griffith has been touring with this show around the country. She’s stopping in Philadelphia for one night only — at the Curio Theatre Company on Feb. 8 with pay-what-you-can ticket pricing.
For more, visit the Curio Theatre Company’s website.