Shirley (2024) follows the titular, real-life icon of US Politics who was the first-ever Black congresswoman who then launched a trailblazing presidential campaign. The film is now streaming on Netflix.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
Shirley Chisholm, a school teacher from Brooklyn becomes the first black woman to get elected to Congress.
In 1971, she decided to put her name on the ticket and run for president. She chooses Wesley “Mac” Holder as her advisor, and Arthur Hardwick to oversee the money.
Her husband Conrad she appoints as the head of security. She chooses her former intern, Robert, as her national student organizer.
Her campaign begins with Massachusetts, New Jersey, Minnesota, and Wisconsin rounded up for the start. Florida is the big primary they focus all their efforts on.
Her campaign doesn’t do well at all in the Florida primary. She meets her rival Walter Fauntrey, who asks her to drop out in the DC primary so he can win.
In return, he gives her his word that he’ll be releasing all his delegates to her after the first round at the convention. She agrees.
There are many setbacks along the way but Shirley keeps at it, even through the shakeups her marriage suffers from. Shirley then decides to go for the California primary and pours more of her own money into the campaign.
She doesn’t do well there but hope emerges after Muskie and Humphrey’s campaign seeks to let her join in to contest the ‘winner-take-all’ results of the Californian primary, and distribute the delegates to all of them proportionally.
She then gets a sizeable amount of delegates to become a significant voice at the convention.
However, McGovern’s campaign managed to pressure longtime Chisholm-loyalist Ron Dellums, and Walter to defer their delegates to the Senator.
In the end, Chisholm decides to release all her delegates and continues to fight the good fight in Congress, even as her presidential campaign comes to a close.
Ending explained:
The winner-take-all primary
After raking in a measly percentage of votes in most of the primaries, Shirley decides to win the delegates through the California primary.
She believes that even if they don’t win, at least winning enough delegates will award them the power to make some meaningful change at the convention.
However, California is a winner-take-all. After spending more of her money, which causes another big rift in her marriage, she comes fourth in terms of the vote.
McGovern wins California’s Democratic primary, taking in 44% of the vote. Humphrey followed him with 39%, followed by the others who took the rest. This gives McGovern all 271 delegate votes.
A new hope
Two men from the Muskie and Humphrey’s campaigns meet Chisholm and ask her to join them in the motion at the Credentials Committee that what transpired in California is undemocratic, and they all awarded with the delegates proportionally.
She agrees as it looks promising. With the black delegates that Humphrey promised to defer to her, as well as her arrangements with Walter and Ron Dellums, she’d be going into the convention controlling over 150 delegates.
In Miami, it’s upon Chisholm to keep the delegates she’s as good as secured from Muskie, Humphrey, Walter, and Ron, from breaking for McGovern.
She manages to do so, and black delegates from all over begin switching to her side. Then another great news arrives when Humphrey decides to drop out and releases all his delegates to her.
The campaign concludes
Shirley has done it, and now with a total of 250 delegates, she can make a real dent at the convention and put forward the demands for her political cause.
However, she receives word from CBS News that Walter is releasing his delegates to McGovern. Soon, it’s learned that Ron Dellums has done the same too, and shortly he confirms it himself while appearing on TV.
Mac rallies up the room to start working the phones and keep as many delegates as they can, to keep deferring to McGovern. However, Shirley asks everyone to put out a statement saying she’s releasing all her delegates.
She’s done all that could’ve been done. With tears and heavy hearts, but also grateful and proud ones, they drop out and Shirley releases all her delegates to Senator McGovern.
Legacy & ever-afters
Barbara Lee went on to serve California’s 9th congressional district and currently is the highest-ranking African American woman in Democratic leadership in Congress.
Wesley “Mac” Holder continued to do great and important work breaking racial barriers as a mentor to promising young politicians. He died at the age of 95.
Ron Dellums, whom Chisholm forgave even after he deferred to McGovern and robbed her of all her delegates, went on to become the mayor of Oakland in 2007. He also remained a friend and political ally to Shirley.
Robert went on to complete his Juris Doctorate and open his own law firm, where he now works as a highly sought-after lawyer.
Shirley and Conrad, who went through a major rough patch in their marriage during her presidential campaign, finally divorced in 1977. Later the same year, she married Arthur Hardwick.
Shirley Chisholm served seven terms in Congress and introduced over 50 pieces of legislation to improve the lives of the marginalized and disenfranchised. She died in 2005, at the age of 80.
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