I'm Jonathan Kapart and welcome to Kapart.

Shirley Chism was a groundbreaker.

She was the first black woman elected to Congress in 1968.

And she was a trailblazer in 1972

when she became the first black candidate to run for a major party's presidential nomination,

a campaign where she famously declared that she was un-bought and un-bossed.

A campaign by a consequential historic figure very few people know anything

about. But that's about to change. Shirley Chisholm and her presidential campaign are the subject of the new movie,

Shirley, which debuts on Netflix on March 22nd.

In the title role is Academy Award-winning actress Regina King.

In this conversation first recorded for Washington Post Live on March 19, King talks about

why it took 15 years to get this movie made.

The role Congresswoman Barbara Lee played in the film's

unfolding story and the enduring legacy of Shirley Chisholm. We have

Hillary Clinton, President Barack Obama, and all of the other black or female politicians

that ran for president or ran for a office higher than a council member.

I think we can thank Shirley.

I got a fan.

I got a fan girl out all throughout this so you just forewarned let's talk about

surely this film has been a passion project for you and your sister Rayna

for the last 15 years what drew you both to Shirley Chism's story?

I guess first and foremost the fact that growing up even in our young adult years so many people had never even

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