Shirley Chisholm's presidential rival explained

Shirley Chisholm faced fierce political opponents such as Humphrey, McGovern, and Muskie. shirley. Netflix's new historical biopic about the first black woman to serve in the U.S. Congress first black American woman to run for president of the United States.

Regina King gives a transformative performance as the title character, demonstrating her fierce determination and unyielding determination to make history.the ending of shirley The book chronicles the results of the 1972 Democratic National Convention, in which Chisholm was betrayed by rival candidate Walter Fauntroy and ultimately withdrew from the race.

shirley It features an outstanding cast, led by Regina King, Lucas Hedges, Terrence Howard, and the late Lance Reddick in his final appearance after his death. shirley The film was written and directed by John Ridley, who won an Oscar in 2013. 12 years of slavery. Many of the characters in shirley It dramatizes the real-life political candidates, volunteers, activists, and other key figures involved in Chisholm's pioneering campaign. Congressman Barbara Lee and prominent lawyer Robert C. Gottliebboth of whom were early supporters of Chisholm.

related

Explaining the politics of Netflix's Shirley Chisholm movie

As portrayed in Netflix's new political biopic Shirley, Shirley Chisholm made history in 1972 when she ran for president of the United States.

Hubert Humphrey withdraws from race with only 2% of total delegates

Hubert Humphrey is mentioned several times in Shirley, although he was one of Chisholm's competitors and an eventual supporter at the 1972 Democratic National Convention. He never appeared on screen. Humphrey served as the 38th Vice President of the United States from 1965 until 1969, under President Lyndon B. Johnson. Humphrey also served as a senator from Minnesota twice, from 1949 to 1964 and from 1971 to 1978. Humphrey was nominated as the Democratic candidate in the 1968 presidential election.ultimately losing to Republican candidate Richard Nixon.

As depicted in shirley, Hubert Humphrey kept his promise by withdrawing from the race at the 1972 Democratic National Convention and ceding all of his delegates to Chisholm. This was a key moment for Chisholm's campaign. She would have accepted Humphrey's promised 67 delegates.That would have increased the total number of delegates from 152 to 219. Mr. Chisholm was relying on all the help he could get to at least push Mr. McGovern, who enjoys overwhelming support, to run for the Democratic nomination. That would have given Mr. Chisholm some leverage in negotiating his policies and positions with Mr. McGovern before ultimately handing over the delegates.

related

Shirley 2024 Soundtrack Guide: All Netflix Movie Songs

Netflix's political biopic Shirley depicts Shirley Chisholm's historic presidential campaign and features a fun, classic soundtrack.

Edmund Muskie performed disastrously at the 1972 Democratic National Committee

Like Humphrey, Ed Muskie was one of the Democratic candidates who gave Chisholm a delegate after dropping out of the race at the 1972 Democratic National Convention. It wasn't that many, but the total number of delegates Muskie promised the DNC was 25, or just 0.83% of the total delegate count. Notably, Muskie defeated other candidates such as Ted Kennedy, Wayne Hayes, and Eugene McCarthy. The senator from Maine served from 1959 to 1981. It is worth noting that Mr. Muskie was the Democratic Party's vice presidential candidate in the 1968 presidential election.

George McGovern wins an overwhelming majority of delegates and secures the presidential nomination

George McGovern attracted attention in the Massachusetts primary, but was far behind George Wallace, until an assassination attempt nearly took his life, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down and forcing him to withdraw from the campaign. was forced to retreat. McGovern has emerged as the most popular candidate heading into the Democratic National Convention.However, Chisholm remained patient and continued his campaign. In the end, McGovern won as the Democratic nominee in 1972 after several candidates, including Fauntroy, withdrew and gave their pledged delegates to McGovern instead of Chisholm.

McGovern won the California primary and secured a landslide victory for the Democratic National Committee. And in theory, he would have secured 273 delegates on a “winner-takes-all” basis, theoretically securing the Democratic presidential nomination. However, as depicted in the figure, shirley, new rules and qualification changes in 1972 caused confusion and resulted in McGovern losing some of the California delegates and the Democratic nomination. As a result, California delegates were distributed based on the popular vote, giving Mr. Chisholm a portion of the California delegates and temporarily extending his campaign at the Democratic National Convention. After the events of shirleyMcGovern lost the 1972 presidential election, with a historically low turnout of 56.2%, to Richard Nixon, who won an overwhelming 520 votes in the Electoral College.

Shirley (2024)

Shirley is a biographical drama film written and directed by John Ridley for Netflix. The film depicts the life and career of Shirley Chisholm, a political icon who continued to aim for greater heights, including becoming the first black woman to reach Congress and running for President of the United States.

director

John Ridley

release date

March 22, 2024

studio

Participants, Royal Tides Productions

Sales agent

Netflix

Writer

John Ridley

cast

Regina King, Lance Reddick, Lucas Hedges, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Dorian Missick, Amira Vann, W. Earl Brown, Brad James, Andre Holland

runtime

117 minutes

Source: U.S. Senate, Britannica