Barbara Jordan 351329 225651104 2008-07-14T19:05:48Z 12.4.116.34 /* Biography */ {{Infobox_Congressman | name = Barbara Charline Jordan | image name = Barbara Jordan 1976-04-07.jpg | state = [[Texas]] | district = [[Texas's 18th congressional district|18th]] | term = [[1973]]–[[1979]] | preceded = [[Bob Price (Texas politician)|Bob Price]] | succeeded = [[Mickey Leland]] | date of birth = {{birth date|1936|2|21|df=y}} | place of birth= [[Houston, Texas]] | date of death = {{death date and age|1996|1|17|1936|2|21|df=y}} | place of death= [[Austin, Texas]] | profession = [[Attorney]] | religion = [[Baptist]] | party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] |}} '''Barbara Charline Jordan''' ([[February 21]], [[1936]] – [[January 17]], [[1996]]) was an American politician from Texas. She served as a congresswoman in the [[United States House of Representatives]] from 1973 to 1979. ==Biography== Jordan was born in [[Houston]]'s [[The six wards of Houston#Fifth Ward|Fifth Ward]] to Rev. Benjamin M. Jordan and Arlyne (Patton) Jordan. Barbara Jordan attended [[Wheatley High School (Houston)|Wheatley High School]], where one of the nation's few African-American female attorneys, [[Edith S. Sampson]], spoke and inspired Jordan to become a lawyer.<ref name="Sampson">{{cite web |url=http://www.planetout.com/news/history/aahist/jordan.html |title=Stateswoman Barbara Jordan — A Closeted Lesbian |publisher=Planet Out |accessdate=2007-07-12}}</ref> This was a difficult ambition at the time, because only one law school in Texas admitted African-Americans.<ref name="Sampson"/> With the support of her father, Jordan graduated [[magna cum laude]] from [[Texas Southern University]] in 1956 and from [[Boston University]] Law School in 1959.<ref name="Sampson"/> She passed the [[Bar Exam|bar exam]]s in [[Massachusetts]] and Texas before returning to Houston to open a law practice, only the third African-American woman to be licensed in Texas.<ref name="Sampson"/> Jordan campaigned for the [[Texas House of Representatives]] in 1962 and 1964.<ref name="Sampson"/> Her persistence won her a seat in the [[Texas Senate]] in 1966, becoming the first [[African American]] state senator since 1883 and the first black woman to serve in that body.<ref name="Sampson"/> Re-elected to a full term in the Texas Senate in 1968, she served until 1972. She was the first African-American female to serve as president ''pro tem'' of the state senate and served for one day as [[List of Governors of Texas#Acting Governors of Texas|acting governor of Texas]] in 1972. In 1972, she was elected to the [[United States House of Representatives]], becoming the first black woman from a [[U.S. Southern states|Southern]] state to serve in the House. She received extensive support from former [[President of the United States|President]] [[Lyndon Johnson]], who helped her secure a position on the [[United States House Committee on the Judiciary|House Judiciary Committee]]. In 1974, she made an influential, televised [http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barbarajordanjudiciarystatement.htm speech] before the House Judiciary Committee supporting the [[impeachment]] of President [[Richard Nixon]]. Jordan was mentioned as a possible running mate to [[Jimmy Carter]] in 1976.<ref name="Sampson"/> Her speech at the 1976 [[Democratic National Convention]] is considered by many [[historian]]s to have been the best convention [[keynote]] speech in modern history and was ranked 5th in "[http://gos.sbc.edu/top100.html Top 100 American Speeches of the 20th century]" list. She was the first African-American woman to deliver the keynote address.<ref name="Sampson"/> Jordan retired from politics in 1979 and became an adjunct professor at the [[University of Texas at Austin]] Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. She again [http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barbarajordan1992dnc.html was a keynote speaker] at the Democratic National Convention in 1992. In 1995, Jordan [http://www.utexas.edu/lbj/uscir/022495.html chaired a Congressional commission] that advocated increased restriction of immigration and increased penalties on employers that violated U.S. immigration regulations.<ref>"[http://www.numbersusa.com/hottopic/uscir.html The U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform]." Arlington, VA: NumbersUSA. Accessed 13 May 2008.</ref> President Clinton endorsed the Jordan Commission's proposals.<ref>Pear, Robert. "[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE5D7103EF93BA35755C0A963958260 Clinton Embraces a Proposal to Cut Immigration by a Third]." ''New York Times''. Accessed 13 May 2008.</ref> Jordan's seat in Congress is currently held by [[African-American]] [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] [[Sheila Jackson-Lee]]. Many of her speeches have been collected in a new volume from the University of Texas Press, ''Barbara Jordan: Speaking the Truth with Eloquent Thunder''. Edited by Barbara Jordan's friend and colleague, Senator Max Sherman, the book also includes a DVD of many of her most famous speeches. ===Legislation=== She supported the [[Community Reinvestment Act]] of 1977, legislation that required banks to lend and make services available to underserved poor and minority communities. She supported the renewal of the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]] and expansion of that act to cover language minorities. This extended protection to Hispanics in Texas and was opposed by Texas Governor [[Dolph Briscoe]] and Secretary of State [[Mark White]]. ===Personal life=== In 1973, Jordan began to suffer from [[multiple sclerosis]]. She had difficulty climbing stairs, and she started using a cane and eventually a [[wheelchair]]. She kept the state of her health out of the press so well that in the KUT radio documentary ''Rediscovering Barbara Jordan'', former president [[Bill Clinton]] stated that he wanted to nominate Jordan for the [[United States Supreme Court]], but by the time he could do so, Jordan's health problems prevented him from nominating her.<ref>''Rediscovering Barbara Jordan'', KUT, February 8, 2006. [http://www.kut.org/items/show/5525 Transcript online] on the KUT web site, accessed 4 November 2006.</ref> Jordan was a [[lesbian]] with a longtime companion of more than 20 years, Nancy Earl; Jordan never publicly acknowledged her sexual orientation, but in her obituary, the ''Houston Chronicle'' mentioned her longtime relationship with Earl.<ref>Rosa Maria Pegueros, [http://www.research.umbc.edu/~korenman/wmst/come_out.html Barbara Jordan, E. Bradford Burns and Me: Coming Out in Public Life], for "Setting Out II: URI's Annual Symposium on Lesbian, Gay and Transgender Issues," April 10-12, 1996. Accessed July 12, 2007 at Women's Studies Online Resources, [[University of Maryland, Baltimore County]].</ref><ref>Clay Smith, [http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/vol18/issue24/books.VSBR.html Two Bios of Barbara], ''Chronicle''Austin, Volume 18, Number 24, February 12, 1999.</ref> After Jordan's initial unsuccessful statewide races, advisers warned her to become more discreet and not bring any female companions on the campaign trail.<ref name="Sampson"/><ref>"Barbara Jordan: The other life" Moss, J Jennings. ''[[The Advocate]]''. Los Angeles: Mar 5, 1996. , Iss. 702; pg. 38</ref> Jordan met Earl, an educational [[psychologist]] who would become an occasional speechwriter in addition to Jordan's partner, on a camping trip in the late 1960s.<ref name="Sampson"/> ==Awards and honors== Jordan was awarded the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] in 1994. It was only one of many honors given to her, including election into both the Texas and [[National Women's Hall of Fame]]. In 1995, she was awarded the prestigious [[United States Military Academy|United States Military Academy's]] [[Sylvanus Thayer Award]], becoming only the second female awardee. Upon her death on January 17, 1996, Jordan [[Lying in state|lay in state]] at the [[Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum|LBJ Library]] on the campus of [[University of Texas at Austin|The University of Texas at Austin]]. She was buried in the [[Texas State Cemetery]] in Austin, and was the first black woman interred there. Her papers are housed at the Barbara Jordan Archives at [[Texas Southern University]]. The main terminal at [[Austin-Bergstrom International Airport]] is named after her, as is a middle school in [[Cibolo, Texas]]. The Kaiser Family Foundation currently operates the [[Barbara Jordan Health Policy Scholars]], a fellowship designed for people of color who are college juniors, seniors and recent graduates as a summer experience working in a congressional office. ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== * {{CongBio|J000266}} * {{findagrave|6456}} *[http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barbarajordanjudiciarystatement.htm Jordan's Statement on the Articles of Impeachment During the Nixon Impeachment Hearings in Text and Audio] from AmericanRhetoric.com * [http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barbarajordan1976dnc.html Jordan's 1976 Democratic National Convention Keynote Address in Text and Audio] from AmericanRhetoric.com *[http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barbarajordan1992dnc.html Jordan's 1992 Democratic National Convention Address in Text and Audio] from AmericanRhetoric.com * [http://texashistory.unt.edu/permalink/meta-pth-17419:1 Barbara Jordan, Governor of Texas for a day], program of ceremonies, June 10, 1972, hosted by the [http://texashistory.unt.edu/ Portal to Texas History] * [http://www.kaisernetwork.org/closerlook/05mar07 Interview with Max Sherman, editor of ''Barbara Jordan — Speaking the Truth with Eloquent Thunder''] on kaisernetwork.org {{start box}} {{TXSenateSuccession box | district = 11 | hometown = Houston | before=[[W. T. Moore|W. T. “Bill” Moore]] | after=[[Chet Brooks]] | years=1967–1973 }} {{USRepSuccession box | state = Texas | district = 18 | before=[[Bob Price (Texas politician)|Bob Price]] | after=[[Mickey Leland]] | years=1973–1979}} {{end box}} {{Time Persons of the Year 1951-1975}} {{Lifetime|1936|1996|Jordan, Barbara}} [[Category:African American politicians]] [[Category:African Americans in the United States Congress]] [[Category:United States presidential candidates, 1976]] [[Category:Boston University alumni]] [[Category:Lesbian politicians]] [[Category:LGBT African Americans]] [[Category:LGBT politicians from the United States]] [[Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas]] [[Category:People from Houston, Texas]] [[Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients]] [[Category:Texas Southern University alumni]] [[Category:Texas State Senators]] [[Category:Time magazine Persons of the Year]] [[Category:Texas State Cemetery burials]] [[Category:Graduates of Houston ISD]] [[Category:Female members of the United States House of Representatives]] [[sl:Barbara Jordan]]