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Barbara Charline Jordan (February 21, 1936 – January 17, 1996) was an American lawyer, educator, and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the first African American elected to the Texas Senate since Reconstruction, the first southern African-American woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives,Martin, D.R., & Martin, V.G. (1984). Barbara Jordan's symbolic use of language in the keynote address to the national women's conference. Southern Speech Communication Journal, 49(3), 319-330. https://doi.org/10.1080/10417948409372609 and one of the first two African Americans elected to the U.S. House from the former Confederacy since 1901, alongside Andrew Young of Georgia.
Jordan achieved fame for delivering a powerful opening statement at the House Judiciary Committee hearings during the impeachment process against Richard Nixon. In 1976, she became the first African American, and the first woman, to deliver a keynote address at a Democratic National Convention.Curtin, M.E. (2004) Barbara Jordan: The politics of insertion and accommodation, Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy, 7(4), 279-303, https://doi.org/10.1080/1369823042000300117 Jordan is also known for her work as chair of the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, among numerous other honors. She was the first African-American woman to be buried in the Texas State Cemetery.Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Location 24267). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition
Through her mother, Jordan was the great-granddaughter of Edward Patton, who was one of the last African American members of the Texas House of Representatives prior to disenfranchisement of Black Texans under Jim Crow. Barbara Jordan was the youngest of three children. Her older siblings were Rose Mary Jordan McGowan and Bennie Creswell Jordan (1933–2000).
Jordan attended Roberson Elementary School. She graduated from Phillis Wheatley High School in 1952 with honors. at Human Rights Campaign At Wheatley, Jordan's linguistic abilities were developed through the support of her teachers and curriculum.Ferreira-Buckley, L. (2013). "Remember the world is not a playground but a schoolroom": Barbara Jordan's early rhetorical education. In D. Gold, D. Gold, C. L. Hobbs & C. L. Hobbs (Eds.), Rhetoric, history, and women's oratorical education (1st ed., pp. 196-216). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203073773-11 Major influences included her English teacher Mrs. D. B. Reid, elocutionist Ashton J. Oliver, and speech and drama teacher Robert T. Holland.
Jordan credited a speech she heard in her high school years by Edith S. Sampson with inspiring her to become an attorney. Because of segregation, she could not attend the University of Texas at Austin and instead chose Texas Southern University, a historically black institution, majoring in political science and history. At Texas Southern University, Jordan was a national champion , learning from her coach, Thomas Freeman, and defeating opponents from Yale and Brown, and tying Harvard University. She graduated magna cum laude in 1956. At Texas Southern University, she pledged Delta Gamma chapter of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. She attended Boston University School of Law, graduating in 1959.
The Texas Senate in 1966 consisted of thirty white men and Jordan. With Jordan experiencing racism and sexism from her colleagues, Houston community members were unsure of how much of a difference Jordan could make serving in the Senate. Aware of the challenges she would face, Jordan's goal was to be respected by the white conservatives in the Senate. One of the ways she accomplished this was by befriending Dorsey Hardeman, who was seen as the most powerful man in the body, and Lieutenant Governor Ben Barnes. Jordan ran as a liberal Democrat, but she had strong relationships with the conservative wing of the Texas Democratic Party. Her efforts in her first term led to her being unanimously elected as outstanding freshman member by her colleagues.
Re-elected to a full term in the Texas Senate in 1968, Jordan served until 1972. She was the first African-American woman to serve as president pro tempore of the state senate and served one day, June 10, 1972, as acting governor of Texas. Jordan was the first African-American woman to serve as governor of a state. Additionally, Jordan was nominated to serve on federal commissions by President Lyndon Johnson after she was elected to the Senate; the commissions worked on housing and income maintenance. During her time in the Texas Legislature, Jordan sponsored or cosponsored some 70 bills.Barbara Jordan Papers, Special Collections, Texas Southern University, October 15, 2015. Jordan was an advocate for her constituents and the working class while in the Texas Senate. Some of her accomplishments include developing Texas' first minimum wage law and funding programs to fight against hate crimes.
Jordan's influence in the Senate and her relationship with Lieutenant Governor Ben Barnes shaped her path to U.S. Congress. Redistricting of Texas began after the 1970 census, which included the possibility of a new congressional seat in Houston. Barnes named Jordan vice-chair of the redistricting committee, and this resulted in Jordan having the ability to draw her own district, the Eighteenth Congressional District. Jordan received 81% of the vote in 1972 to win the Democratic nomination to the U.S. House seat.
In 1976, Jordan, mentioned as a possible running mate to Jimmy Carter of Georgia, became instead the first African-American woman to deliver a keynote address at the Democratic National Convention.Kaylor, B. T. (2012). A New Law: The Covenant Speech of Barbara Jordan. Southern Communication Journal, 77(1), 10–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/1041794x.2011.576798 Despite not being a candidate, Jordan received one delegate vote (0.03%) for president at the Convention.
In November 1977, Barbara Jordan spoke at the 1977 National Women's Conference in Houston, Texas. Other speakers included Rosalynn Carter, Betty Ford, Lady Bird Johnson, Bella Abzug, Audrey Colom, Claire Randall, Gerridee Wheeler, Cecilia Burciaga, Gloria Steinem, Lenore Hershey and Jean O'Leary." 1977 National Women's Conference: A Question of Choices," 1977-11-21, The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting
Throughout her Judiciary Committee impeachment speech, Jordan strongly stood by the Constitution of the United States. She defended the checks and balances system, which was set in place to inhibit any politician from abusing their power. Jordan never directly said that she wanted Richard Nixon impeached, but rather subtly and cleverly implied her thoughts. "Mr. Newman's Digital Rhetorical Symposium: Barbara Jordan: Statement on the Articles of Impeachment, Newman Rhetoric Blogging Website, 2010. Accessed October 5, 2013. She stated facts that proved Nixon to be untrustworthy and heavily involved in illegal situations, and quoted the drafters of the Constitution to argue that actions like Nixon's during the scandal corresponded with their understanding of impeachable offenses. This powerful and influential statement earned Jordan national praise for her rhetoric, morals, and wisdom. Further, both conservatives and liberals liked Jordan because of her appeal to the American Dream and her positions on Watergate and the Voting Rights Act respectively.
Many delegates wanted Jordan to become Jimmy Carter running mate and wore ‘‘Barbara Jordan for Vice President’’ buttons the following day of the convention. One of the messages of Jordan's speech was support for the Democratic Party, including what they have done in the past and what they could accomplish in the future.Frye, J. K., & Krohn, F. B. (1977). An analysis of Barbara Jordan’s 1976 keynote address. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 5(2), 73–82. https://doi.org/10.1080/00909887709360247 Some have linked Jordan's speech and her support of the Democratic Party as playing a role in Carter's election win, with Carter winning 92% of the African American vote. During a time of unrest, following the Watergate scandal and the Vietnam War, Carter hoped to unite both the Democratic Party and the country, and Carter tasked Jordan with helping him accomplish this goal at the convention.
She also authored an act that ended federal authorization of price fixing by manufacturers. Jordan was also a proponent of the Equal Rights Amendment and issued a statement in support of extending the deadline in 1979. During Jordan's tenure as a Congresswoman, she sponsored or cosponsored over 300 bills or resolutions, several of which are still in effect today as law.
In 1994, Clinton awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the NAACP presented her with the Spingarn Medal. She was honored many times and was given over 20 honorary degrees from institutions across the country, including Harvard and Princeton, and was elected to the Texas and National Women's Halls of Fame.
The recommendations made by the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform under Jordan's leadership are frequently cited by American immigration restrictionists. The Southern Poverty Law Center has said that the anti-immigrant hate groups Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) and the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) have "deliberately twisted" Jordan's legacy.
Jordan and Nancy Earl shared a home in Austin, Texas and maintained a close bond for 20 years. Jordan's political career was often shadowed by homophobic attacks, with advisors cautioning against the visibility of her personal relationships. With their advice, Jordan's openness about her sexual orientation was limited to private settings. Jordan held a negative view on marriage and viewed it as a life of subservience. She believed that her family would accept her choice to be single only if she had a successful career.
On July 31, 1988, Jordan nearly drowned in her backyard swimming pool while doing physical therapy. She was saved by Earl, who found her floating in the pool and revived her. By 1992, Jordan used a wheelchair due to her multiple sclerosis.
In the KUT-FM radio documentary Rediscovering Barbara Jordan, President Bill Clinton said that he had wanted to nominate Jordan for the United States Supreme Court, but that Jordan's health problems prevented him from doing so. Transcript of Rediscovering Barbara Jordan , KUT.org, February 8, 2006. Retrieved November 4, 2006.
Jordan was interred in Texas State Cemetery. She was the first African American to receive this honor. During her tenure in the Texas State Senate, Jordan had advocated for African Americans to be buried in the state cemetery. Jordan's grave rests near that of the "Father of Texas", Stephen F. Austin.
In the years following Jordan's passing, more African Americans would receive the honor of being buried in the Texas State Cemetery as well, including musical artists James Cotton and Barbara Smith Conrad, and fellow Texas-based U.S. Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson.
Jordan was a member of the Board of Jurors from 1978 to 1980.
A boulevard in central Austin is named after Jordan. Several schools bear her name, including elementary schools in Dallas, Texas, Odessa, Texas, Austin, Texas, Barbara Jordan Early College Prep School, Richmond, Texas, Barbara C. Jordan Intermediate School, a middle school in Cibolo, Texas, Barbara Jordan Career Center in Houston, and The Barbara Jordan Institute for Policy Research at her undergraduate alma mater Texas Southern University. There is also a park named after Jordan in Needville, Texas (The Barbara Jordan Park).
The Kaiser Family Foundation 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.
On April 24, 2009, a statue of Barbara Jordan 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). Created by Bruce Wolfe, the statue stands on the campus's West Mall near the Student Union in 2009. One of her speeches is inscribed on granite slabs behind the statue, with some of her accomplishments also being listed.
The Barbara Jordan Public-Private Leadership Award is presented by Texas Southern University's School of Public Affairs and School of Law. Its first recipient was former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on June 4, 2015.
In 2023, the fiftieth anniversary of Jordan's election to Congress, a meditative monument to Jordan was completed by artists Jamal Cyrus and Charisse Pearlina Weston at the African American Library at the Gregory School in Houston. Later that year, a sculpture representing Jordan and created by artist Angelbert Metoyer was unveiled outside POST Houston in Houston, TX. The former sorting facility named after Jordan opened in 1962.
Texas designated an 8-mile strip along Houston's Third Ward of State Highway 288, SH288, the Barbara Jordan Memorial Parkway.
On March 27, 2000, a play based on Jordan's life premiered at the Victory Garden Theater in Chicago, Illinois. Entitled Voice of Good Hope, Kristine Thatcher's biographical evocation of Jordan's life played in theaters from San Francisco to New York.Siegel, Naomi. " THEATER REVIEW; She Had a Voice That Resonates Still", The New York Times, November 24, 2002. Retrieved November 20, 2008.
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 LGBTQ history and people.
The Barbara Jordan Media Awards are given annually to media professionals and students who "have produced material for the public which accurately and positively reports on individuals with disabilities, using People First language and respectful depictions".
Rogers, Mary Beth. 1998. Barbara Jordan: American hero.
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