Selected as the keynote speaker for a national conference on Black women held at the University of Missouri in Kansas City, Shirley Chisholm enumerated the key issues facing African American women in her address “The Black Woman in Contemporary America.” She pointedly reminded her audience that Black women were not interested in being addressed as “Ms.” or in gaining access to all-male social clubs. Rather, African American women’s top priority was the welfare of their families and communities. Black and white women, she asserted, should unite around issues such as improved day-care facilities and increased job opportunities. At the same time that Chisholm was criticizing white feminists, she chided African American spokesmen who suggested that Black women step aside to allow Black men to monopolize leadership positions. Only by working together as equals, she said, could Black men and women create the programs and policies needed by their communities. This speech typified Chisholm’s fighting spirit, her willingness to confront contentious issues head on, and her rousing oratorical style.