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A More Perfect Party
The Night Shirley Chisholm and Diahann Carroll Reshaped Politics
1 of 1 copy available
In 1972, New York Representative Shirley Chisholm broke the ice in American politics when she became the first Black woman to run for president of the United States. Chisholm left behind a coalition-building model personified by a once-in-an-era Hollywood party hosted by legendary actress and singer Diahann Carroll, and attended by the likes of Huey P. Newton, Barbara Lee, Berry Gordy, David Frost, Flip Wilson, Goldie Hawn and others. In A More Perfect Party, MSNBC political analyst Juanita Tolliver presents a path to people-centered politics through the lens of this soiree, with surprising parallels to our current electoral reality.
Chisholm worked the crowd of movie stars, media moguls, music executives and activists gathered at Carroll’s opulent Beverly Hills home, forging relationships with laughter as she urged guests to unify behind her campaign. With the feminist movement on the rise and eighteen- to twenty-year-olds voting for the first time in American history, the Democratic Party and the nation were on the cusp of long-overdue change.
Zooming in on one party attendee per chapter, A More Perfect Party brings this whimsical event out of the margins of history to demonstrate that there is an opportunity for all of us to fight for a better nation and return power to the people.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
January 14, 2025 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781538770245
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781538770245
- File size: 1158 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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January 1, 2025
When a Black woman ran for president--more than half a century ago. In 2022, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Chisholm's historic campaign as the first woman and African American to run for president, Tolliver interviewed Chisholm's close friend, U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee. During the interview, Lee casually mentioned that Carroll had held a fundraiser for Chisholm at the actress' Hollywood mansion--and that she had brought with her the Black Panther Party co-founder Huey P. Newton. Fascinated by this slice of "living, breathing Black history," Tolliver dove into a research project about the party that uncovered surprising details about the event and its attendees. Among them was that Lee met future fellow House Rep. Maxine Waters at the party--Waters, then an activist, was answering the door for guests. The comedian Flip Wilson co-hosted the get-together, writing a check for $5,000. It wasn't an astronomical sum--about $38,000 in today's dollars--but it was the largest donation the campaign had received, and it paid for ads that helped Chisholm win roughly 5% of the vote in California. This was especially impressive since Chisholm had been excluded from televised debates. Tolliver writes that the fundraiser fueled a sense of optimism among traditionally marginalized groups. And she draws parallels between that long-ago campaign and current-day politics. A Black woman has yet to be elected president of the United States, but that day may come, thanks in no small part to Shirley Chisholm paving the way. An ebullient and trenchant look at a trailblazing campaign for president.COPYRIGHT(2025) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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