In 1972 , Shirley Chisholm was the first African-American major party candidate for president . She was a candidate for the Democratic Party nomination and participated in the Democratic primaries in numerous states . She campaigned in 12 states and won 28 delegates . In the actual balloting at the 1972 Democratic National Convention , she gained additional votes from disaffected Democrats and ended with 152 delegates
1972 Democratic National Convention
1972 Democratic National Convention
African-American candidates for President of the United States