*Fresh from her role as Kizzy in the remake of “Roots,” Anika Noni Rose is set to produce and star in a film about Shirley Chisholm, the first African-American woman elected to the U.S. Congress, reports Shadow & Act.
“Chisholm,” currently in development, was originally slated to star Viola Davis when it was first announced in 2010, according to the website. But a producer on the film, Barbara Bullard, has confirmed that Rose has taken over the project.
A “Chisholm” Facebook page has been set up to provide updates.
In 1968, Chisholm became the first African American woman elected to Congress, representing New York’s 12th Congressional District for seven terms from 1969 to 1983. In 1972, she became the first major-party black candidate for President of the United States, and the first woman ever to run for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination.