MIDDLETOWN, Pa. — Just in time for the U.S. elections, the Madlyn L. Hanes Library at Penn State Harrisburg has launched a new exhibition celebrating Shirley Chisholm and featuring rare materials from the Alice Marshall Women’s History Collection.

Titled “Always Aim High! An Exhibition Celebrating Shirley Chisholm,” the exhibition opened Oct. 22 and will be on display through Dec. 20 at the entrance to Archives and Special Collections on the third floor of the library at 351 Olmsted Drive in Middletown.

A native of Brooklyn, New York, Chisholm was the first Black woman to be elected to the U.S. Congress in 1968 and the first Black woman to run for U.S. president in 1972. 

The exhibition was curated by Payton Becker, a doctoral student in American studies and graduate archives assistant at Hanes Library, and installed with the assistance of Katelyn M. Miller, archives and library services specialist; David Wyche, doctoral student in American studies and graduate archives assistant; and Heidi Abbey Moyer, archivist and humanities reference librarian.

A showcase of items in the exhibition can be found here — including a tray of pin-back buttons from Chisholm’s presidential campaign as well as others.

For more information, contact Moyer at hna2@psu.edu.