Barbara Charline Jordan
(February 21, 1936 – January 17, 1996)
She was born in Houston, Texas Fourth Ward. Her parents were Benjamin Jordon a Baptist preacher and her mother Arlyne Patten Jordan a teacher. Barbara was a lawyer, educator, an American politician, and a leader of the Civil Rights movement. A Democrat, she was the first African American elected to the Texas Senate after Reconstruction, the first Southern African-American woman elected to the United States House of Representatives. She was best-known for her eloquent opening statement at the House Judiciary Committee hearings on the impeachment of President Nixon, and as the first African-American woman to deliver a keynote address at a Democratic National Convention. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, among numerous other honors. She was a member of the Peabody Awards Board of Jurors from 1978 to 1980. She suffered from leukemia and in 1988, Jordan nearly drowned in her backyard swimming pool while doing physical therapy, but she was saved by Earl who found her floating in the pool and revived her.
Barbara Jordan died at the age of 59 due to complications from pneumonia on January 17, 1996, in Austin, Texas.
She was the first African-American woman to be buried in the Texas State Cemetery.
Her Legacy
1984: Inducted into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame.
1990: Inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame
1992: The Spingarn Medal from the NAACP.
1993: The Elizabeth Blackwell Award from Hobart and William Smith Colleges.
1994: The Presidential Medal of Freedom.
1995: The second ever female awardee of the United States Military Academy’s Sylvanus Thayer Award.
Her 1974 statement on the articles of impeachment (regarding President Richard Nixon) was listed as #13 in American Rhetoric’s Top 100 Speeches of the 20th Century (listed by rank).
Her 1976 DNC keynote address was listed as #5 in American Rhetoric’s Top 100 Speeches of the 20th Century (listed by rank).
Namesakes Honors in Texas
The main terminal at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is named after Jordan, as well as a boulevard in central Austin. Several schools bear Jordan’s name, including an elementary school in Odessa, Texas, and Austin, Texa, Barbara Jordan Early College Prep School, a middle school in Cibolo, Texas, and Barbara Jordan High School in Houston. 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.
Additional Honors
In 2000, the Jordan/Rustin Coalition (JRC) was created in Jordan’s honor. The organization mobilized gay and lesbian African Americans to aid in the passage of marriage equality in the state of California. Along with Bayard Rustin, a civil rights leader and close confidante of Martin Luther King, Jr., Barbara Jordan is remembered for her advocacy of progressive politics. According to its website, “the mission [of the JRC] is to empower Black same-gender loving, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals and families in Greater Los Angeles, to promote equal marriage rights and to advocate for fair treatment of everyone without regard to race, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.”
On March 27, 2000, a play based on Jordan’s life premiered at the Victory Garden Theater in Chicago, Illinois titled, “Voice of Good Hope”, Kristine Thatcher’s biographical evocation of Jordan’s life played in theaters from San Francisco to New York.
On April 24, 2009, a Barbara Jordan statue was unveiled at the University of Texas at Austin, where Jordan taught at the time of her death. The Barbara Jordan statue campaign was paid for by a student fee increase approved by the University of Texas Board of Regents. The effort was originally spearheaded by the 2002–2003 Tappee class of the Texas Orange Jackets, the “oldest women’s organization at the University” (of Texas at Austin).
In 2011, actor/playwright Jade Esteban Estrada portrayed Jordan in the solo musical comedy ICONS: The Lesbian and Gay History of the World, Vol. 5 which includes the song “Nancy’s Eyes” sung by the character of Jordan with music and lyrics by Estrada.
In 2011, the Barbara Jordan Forever Stamp was issued. It is the 34th stamp in the Black Heritage series of U.S. stamps.
In 2012, Jordan was inducted into the Legacy Walk, an outdoor public display which celebrates LGBT history and people.
Barbara Jordan in life was a true pioneer that led the way and opened many door through her faith, passion and vision.
By Neville Sobers (Miempowerment) read more and full bio on miempowerment.com with resource information as listed Library of congress, wikipedia, bio.