00:00Hi, welcome back to my channel.
00:02In this video, I will explain the ending of Shirley.
00:04So if let's begin.
00:06Shirley is a poignant biographical drama helmed by John Ridley, capturing the historic 1972
00:11presidential campaign of Shirley Chisholm, the pioneering first black woman elected to
00:15the United States Congress.
00:17Regina King delivers a powerful performance in the titular role, portraying Chisholm's
00:21groundbreaking journey with depth and authenticity.
00:24The film also features standout performances by Lance Reddick and Lucas Hedges in key supporting
00:29roles, offering a compelling exploration of Chisholm's trailblazing legacy and the
00:32challenges she faced as a political trailblazer, here's everything you need to know about
00:36the ending, just to let you know this video will contain spoilers.
00:40Shirley Chisholm, a school teacher from Brooklyn becomes the first black woman to get elected
00:44to Congress.
00:45In 1971, she decided to put her name on the ticket and run for president.
00:50She chooses Wesley Emak Holder as her advisor and Arthur Hardwick to oversee the money.
00:56Her husband Conrad she appoints as the head of security.
00:59She chooses her former intern, Robert, as her national student organizer.
01:04Her campaign begins with Massachusetts, New Jersey, Minnesota, and Wisconsin rounded up
01:08for the start.
01:10Florida is the big primary they focus all their efforts on.
01:14Her campaign doesn't do well at all in the Florida primary.
01:17She meets her rival Walter Fauntree, who asks her to drop out in the D.C. primary so he
01:21can win.
01:22In return, he gives her his word that he'll be releasing all his delegates to her after
01:26the first round at the convention.
01:29She agrees.
01:30There are many setbacks along the way but Shirley keeps at it, even through the shakeups
01:34her marriage suffers from.
01:36Shirley then decides to go for the California primary and pours more of her own money into
01:40the campaign.
01:42She doesn't do well there but hope emerges after Muskie and Humphrey's campaign seeks
01:45to let her join in to contest the winner-take-all results of the Californian primary and distribute
01:50the delegates to all of them proportionally.
01:52She then gets a sizable amount of delegates to become a significant voice at the convention.
01:57However, McGovern's campaign managed to pressure longtime Chisholm loyalist Ron Dellums and
02:02Walter to defer their delegates to the senator.
02:05In the end, Chisholm decides to release all her delegates and continues to fight the good
02:08fight in Congress, even as her presidential campaign comes to a close.
02:13After raking in a measly percentage of votes in most of the primaries, Shirley decides
02:17to win the delegates through the California primary.
02:20She believes that even if they don't win, at least winning enough delegates will award
02:23them the power to make some meaningful change at the convention.
02:26However, California is a winner-take-all.
02:30After spending more of her money, which causes another big rift in her marriage, she comes
02:34fourth in terms of the vote.
02:36McGovern wins California's Democratic primary, taking in 44 percent of the vote.
02:41Humphrey followed him with 39 percent, followed by the others who took the rest.
02:46This gives McGovern all 271 delegate votes.
02:49Two men from the Muskie and Humphreys campaigns meet Chisholm and ask her to join them in
02:53the motion at the Credentials Committee that what transpired in California is undemocratic,
02:57and they all awarded with the delegates proportionally.
03:00She agrees as it looks promising.
03:03With the black delegates that Humphrey promised to defer to her, as well as her arrangements
03:07with Walter and Ron Dellums, she'd be going into the convention controlling over 150 delegates.
03:12In Miami, it's upon Chisholm to keep the delegates she's as good as secured from Muskie, Humphrey,
03:17Walter, and Ron from breaking for McGovern.
03:20She manages to do so, and black delegates from all over begin switching to her side.
03:25Then another great news arrives when Humphrey decides to drop out and releases all his delegates
03:29to her.
03:31Shirley has done it, and now with a total of 250 delegates, she can make a real dent
03:35at the convention and put forward the demands for her political cause.
03:39However, she receives word from CBS News that Walter is releasing his delegates to McGovern.
03:44Soon, it's learned that Ron Dellums has done the same too, and shortly he confirms it himself
03:49while appearing on TV.
03:51Mack rallies up the room to start working the phones and keep as many delegates as they
03:54can to keep deferring to McGovern.
03:57However, Shirley asks everyone to put out a statement saying she's releasing all her
04:01delegates.
04:02She's done all that could've been done.
04:05With tears and heavy hearts, but also grateful and proud ones, they drop out and Shirley
04:09releases all her delegates to Sen. McGovern.
04:12Barbara Lee went on to serve California's 9th Congressional District and currently is
04:16the highest-ranking African-American woman in Democratic leadership in Congress.
04:20Wesley A. Mack Holder continued to do great and important work breaking racial barriers
04:24as a mentor to promising young politicians.
04:27He died at the age of 95.
04:30Ron Dellums, whom Chisholm forgave even after he deferred to McGovern and robbed her of
04:33all her delegates, went on to become the mayor of Oakland in 2007.
04:38He also remained a friend and political ally to Shirley.
04:41Robert went on to complete his Juris Doctorate and open his own law firm, where he now works
04:45as a highly sought-after lawyer.
04:48Shirley and Conrad, who went through a major rough patch in their marriage during her presidential
04:51campaign, finally divorced in 1977.
04:55Later the same year, she married Arthur Hardwick.
04:58Shirley Chisholm served seven terms in Congress and introduced over 50 pieces of legislation
05:03to improve the lives of the marginalized and disenfranchised.
05:06What Netflix's Shirley Leaves Out About the True Story
05:10The Netflix film Shirley depicts Chisholm as a resilient and steadfast campaigner who
05:14would not back down from her noble pursuits.
05:16In reality, Chisholm was more grounded and aware of the unlikeliness of her candidacy
05:20but still worked diligently to make a splash in the 1972 presidential election and at the
05:25Democratic National Convention.
05:27Chisholm had said that she ran for office, in spite of hopeless odds, to demonstrate
05:31the sheer will and refusal to accept the status quo, via USA Today.
05:35Shirley Chisholm survived multiple assassination attempts.
05:39One of Chisholm's near-death experiences was depicted in the Netflix film but the presidential
05:43candidate had been reportedly targeted as many as three separate times during her historic
05:47campaign.
05:49Chisholm received many death threats as well and was granted protection from the Secret
05:52Service in response as she continued her campaign.
05:55Despite the danger and risk involved in her campaign, she saw it through until the end.
06:00The film focuses more on her positive outlook and strategy more than diving into the vulnerable
06:04moments of Chisholm dealing with the intense pressure.
06:07Shirley Chisholm left Congress in 1982 feeling isolated and misunderstood.
06:12Despite Chisholm's extraordinary trailblazing efforts, the landscape of American politics
06:16during the 1970s ultimately worked to keep the interests of her and her constituents
06:20out of the bigger picture.
06:22Chisholm stood firmly against the Vietnam War and advocated for middle-class Americans
06:26on issues such as minimum wage and spending increases for education, healthcare, and other
06:30social services.
06:32She famously told the New York Times after leaving Congress,
06:35I will be doing a lot of things to take my mind off the aches and pains of being so misunderstood,"
06:39via Smithsonian Magazine.
06:41What Happened to Shirley Chisholm After Shirley?
06:44Throughout the rest of her career as a U.S. Congresswoman, Chisholm served as the Secretary
06:48of the Democratic Caucus from 1977 to 1981.
06:52She stood strongly against the implementation of the military draft during the Vietnam War
06:56and advocated for equal rights for women and land rights for indigenous peoples.
07:01Over time, Chisholm had remained loyal to the Democratic Party but had garnered some
07:04political opponents who worked to suppress her positions of authority in Congress.
07:09Chisholm's political career as a U.S. Congresswoman ended in 1982 and the historic figure became
07:13interested in living a more quiet and private life.
07:17Chisholm ultimately divorced her husband, Conrad, and married Arthur Hardwick Jr. in
07:211977.
07:23Hardwick was in a bad car accident in 1979, which contributed to Chisholm's decision
07:27to pursue other life interests.
07:30Chisholm taught for one year at the all-women M.T.
07:31Holyoke College in Massachusetts.
07:34In 1984, Chisholm co-founded an organization initially known as the National Black Women's
07:39Political Caucus.
07:41As stated in Shirley, she died on January 1, 2005 in Florida.
07:45That's all for now folks, I would appreciate it if you could give the video a super thanks
07:49with a thumbs up and subscribe to the channel so you can see more content like this every
07:52day, take care, bye!
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