Final answer:
Shirley Chisholm was the first African-American candidate from a major party to run for president in 1972, marking a significant milestone in American political history.
Step-by-step explanation:
The first African-American candidate from a major party to run for president was Shirley Chisholm in 1972. Chisholm was a New York congresswoman who, after being elected to the House of Representatives in 1968, made a historic bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. She won the Democratic primaries in New Jersey, Louisiana, and Mississippi, indicating the shifting political landscape after the implementation of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. This Act was significant as it increased the participation of African American voters in these Southern states that previously supported segregationist candidates and excluded black voters.
Shirley Chisholm's groundbreaking campaign paved the way for other African American candidates such as Jesse Jackson, who later ran for President in 1984 and 1988, and Barack Obama, who in 2008 became the first African American to be nominated and later elected as President from a major political party.