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Uzo Aduba Set to Portray Shirley Chisholm in New FX Series “Mrs. America”

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May 17, 2019

The work of Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected into U.S. Congress, will be displayed in a new limited series coming to FX called “Mrs. America.”

Emmy-winning actress Uzo Aduba will play Chisholm, who represented New York’s 12th congressional district from 1969 to 1983 and who became the first Black female candidate from a major political party to run for president. 

According to The Root, FX said in a press release that the limited series will tell “the story of the movement to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), and the unexpected backlash led by a conservative woman named Phyllis Schlafly, played by [Cate] Blanchett. Through the eyes of the women of that era – both Schlafly and second wave feminists Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, Shirley Chisholm, Bella Abzug and Jill Ruckelshaus – the series explores how one of the toughest battlegrounds in the culture wars of the 70s helped give rise to the Moral Majority and forever shifted our political landscape.”

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Aduba is one of 11 actors who have been selected so far to play in the nine-episode series that will premiere in 2020. The series, which is written by Emmy-winning producer Dahvi Waller, is executive produced by Waller, Coco Francini, Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck and Blanchett. 

The FX series will be the second portrayal of Chisholm coming up as Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis will also portray the politician and civil rights activist in a movie that she is producing at Amazon Studios. According to Deadline, Maggie Betts will direct the screenplay that will be written by Emmy-nominated writer Adam Countee. 

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