Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm was the first African American woman elected to the United States Congress (in 1968) and the first woman and African American to seek the nomination for president of the United States from one of the two major political parties (1972). In Congress, the politician who was dubbed “Fighting Shirley,” introduced more than 50 pieces of legislation, spoke out for racial and gender equality, the plight of the poor, and ending the Vietnam war. In 1971, she co-founded the National Women's Political Caucus and in 1977 became the first black woman and second woman ever to serve on the powerful House Rules Committee.