A More Perfect Party: The Night Shirley Chisholm and Diahann Carroll Reshaped Politics

By becoming the first black woman to run for President of the United States in 1972, New York Representative Shirley Chisholm did more than break the ice in American politics, she left behind a coalition model that requires voters in the United States to show up and show out for the candidates they trust. This coalition model lives on in one whimsical--but little known--1972 Hollywood fundraiser for Chisholm's Presidential Campaign hosted by Diahann Carroll. In A More Perfect Party, MSNBC political analyst and cohost of Crooked Media's What A Day podcast Juanita Tolliver argues that this model is exactly what we must employ today to support Black women's' electoral success.

When actress and singer Diahann Carroll opened the doors of her opulent Hollywood home to Shirley Chisolm and her guest list of Black Panther Party members, lauded musicians, political supporters and adversaries, Hollywood movers and shakers, and philanthropists, she knew they were in for a fabulous party. Chisolm worked the room, laughing, eating, and meeting with each guest to show how their respective fields were integral to her political success and the betterment of the United States. A More Perfect Party explores this unreal coming together of Diahann Carroll, Huey P. Newton, Goldie Hawn, Berry Gordy and more, and what their conversations tell us about our current political landscape. Zooming in on one integral conversation per chapter, this book highlights the gaps that today's voters must address to challenge sluggish progress. Chisolm and Huey P. Newton talk voter turnout initiative for the Black Panthers. Chisolm encourages actress Goldie Hawn to take a confident, feminist stance against racism. Media mogul David Frost and Chisolm parse through media's impact on the nation's calcified thinking that only white people and men are capable leaders.

A More Perfect Party is what happens when voters, donors, and kingmakers, step up and answer the call. Tolliver brings this forgotten event out of the margins of history to show curious voters of today the power of starting with their own interests to get involved politically and the pitfalls of sexism, racism, and fascism that stand in our way. By leveraging Chisholm's coalition blueprint, Black women candidates today can reach new political heights.