The story of Fighting Shirley is coming to the stage at Southampton Arts Center.
Written and performed by Ingrid Griffith, and directed by Zoya Kachadurian, “Shirley Chisholm: Unbossed and Unbowed” tells the largely unheard story of Shirley St. Hill Chisholm, a Brooklyn-born politician of immigrant parents, who in the 20th century, was the first African-American woman to win a seat in the U.S. Congress and run for the Presidency of the United States.
Presented with Southampton African American Museum, the show will take place on Sunday, August 1 at 2 PM, followed by a panel discussion.
“This compelling one-woman show telling the story of an important historical figure and icon not just to women, but to numerous marginalized communities, promises to be something special,” noted SAC executive director Tom Dunn. “While this performance dramatizes the Civil Rights era, it’s also relevant to what we still see in politics today. It’s an honor to present this important work alongside our friends at Southampton African American Museum, which formally opened on Juneteenth this year.”
“It’s been over 50 years since Shirley Chisholm fought for civil rights, women’s rights and justice for the disenfranchised,” Griffith shared. “We are in a moment in history when we must continue the fight she waged so bravely. It’s time we all know Shirley Chisholm’s story. Our country is at a tipping point, suspended between great peril and great possibilities. Shirley Chisholm is not with us but we can gain strength from her spirit, vision and strategies.”
The story journeys back to 10-year old Chisholm returning to the United States after being separated from her parents during The Great Depression. We see how the years living with her grandmother in Barbados manifested and reinforced her Caribbean heritage in her bearing, speech pattern and expectations of herself.
Chisholm’s childhood also shows how race and gender were intended to determine how far she would go in life, why as a young woman she chose to fight for the disenfranchised, and what it took for her to rise.
“Unbossed & Unbowed” dramatizes the Civil Rights era, the unrest of the 1960s, the patriarchal system and the all-boys network Chisholm was up against, many themes we still see in the politics of today.
Details and tickets are available at southamptonartscenter.org/live.