Black Woman for President

Throughout US history only three Black women--Shirley Chisholm Carol Moseley Braun and Kamala Harris--have given successfully recognized bids for the office of president of the United States. In <i>A Black Woman for President</i> author Dianna N. Watkins-Dickerson uses womanist rhetorical criticism to analyze the presidential announcement speeches of Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun and then-Senator Kamala Harris. In close readings of each candidate's speeches Watkins-Dickerson defines womanist rhetorical theory and its efficacy for researching Black female voices in the field of communication in general and the presidential announcement speeches of Black women specifically. <p/> Beginning with Shirley Chisholm's historic 1972 campaign as the first Black woman to run a viable campaign for the US presidency the volume analyzes how Chisholm's speech set a precedent for future generations of Black women in politics by boldly asserting her right to lead despite the multiple barriers of race and gender. The study then moves to Carol Moseley Braun's 2004 presidential announcement exploring how Braun's speech navigated the intersections of identity representation and political ambition during a time when Black women in the Senate were still a rarity. Finally the analysis culminates with Kamala Harris's 2020 presidential bid focusing on how her rhetoric blended elements of Black feminist resistance and national unity in an era of heightened political and racial division. <p/> The volume highlights the ways in which Chisholm Braun and Harris drew upon their lived experiences and cultural legacies to construct powerful transformative narratives and argues that their speeches not only expanded the boundaries of political discourse but also reimagined the possibilities for leadership in America. Ultimately this study provides a rich interdisciplinary framework for understanding how Black women have reshaped the political landscape through the power of their words.