Danai Gurira (The Walking Dead, Avengers: Endgame, Black Panther) is attached to star in The Fighting Shirley Chisholm, portraying the first Black congresswoman Shirley Chrisholm in the new film about Chisholm’s historic 1972 presidential run, according to Variety.
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The Fighting Shirley Chisholm will be directed by Cherien Dabis (Ramy, Little Voice, Ozark) from a script by Emmy nominee Adam Countee (Silicon Valley, Run, The Mindy Project).
The movie is not being described as a biopic, instead focused more centrally on the campaign and how “the Chisholm Trail was populated by young people who sought social and political change during one of the most turbulent times in American history. At the time, Chisholm had already made history as the first Black congresswoman, and according to a description of the piece, recognized that she could make real change by challenging the status quo through her efforts to gain enough delegates to speak for the people at the Democratic Convention.”
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Stephanie Allain will produce the project through her Homegrown Pictures banner. Gabrielle Ebron will executive produce.
Chisholm was recently played on the small screen by Uzo Aduba (Orange Is the New Black) in the miniseries Mrs. America, for which Aduba won an Emmy Award.
(Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images & Michael Tighe/Donaldson Collection/Getty Images)
