BARBARA CHARLINE JORDAN
Name: Barbara Charline Jordan
Born: 21 February 1936 Houston, Texas
Died: 17 January 1996 Austin, Texas
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.
Jordan was born in Houston's Fifth Ward to Rev. Benjamin M. Jordan and Arlyne (Patten)
Jordan.
Barbara Jordan attended 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. This was a difficult ambition at the time, because only
one law school in Texas admitted African-Americans. 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. She passed the bar exams in
Massachusetts and Texas before returning to Houston to open a law practice, only
the third African-American woman to be licensed in Texas.
Jordan campaigned for the Texas House of Representatives in 1962 and 1964.
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. 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 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 Southern state to serve in the House. She received
extensive support from former President Lyndon Johnson, who helped her secure a
position on the House Judiciary Committee.
In 1974, she made an influential, televised 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. Her speech at
the 1976 Democratic National Convention is considered by many historians to have
been the best convention keynote speech in modern history and was ranked 5th in
"Top 100 American Speeches of the 20th century" list. She was the first African-American
woman to deliver the keynote address.
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 was a keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention in 1992. In
1995, Jordan chaired a Congressional commission that advocated increased
restriction of immigration and increased penalties on employers that violated U.S.
immigration regulations.
Her seat in Congress is currently held by African-American 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.
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.
Name: Barbara Charline Jordan
Born: 21 February 1936 Houston, Texas
Died: 17 January 1996 Austin, Texas
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.
Jordan was born in Houston's Fifth Ward to Rev. Benjamin M. Jordan and Arlyne (Patten)
Jordan.
Barbara Jordan attended 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. This was a difficult ambition at the time, because only
one law school in Texas admitted African-Americans. 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. She passed the bar exams in
Massachusetts and Texas before returning to Houston to open a law practice, only
the third African-American woman to be licensed in Texas.
Jordan campaigned for the Texas House of Representatives in 1962 and 1964.
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. 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 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 Southern state to serve in the House. She received
extensive support from former President Lyndon Johnson, who helped her secure a
position on the House Judiciary Committee.
In 1974, she made an influential, televised 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. Her speech at
the 1976 Democratic National Convention is considered by many historians to have
been the best convention keynote speech in modern history and was ranked 5th in
"Top 100 American Speeches of the 20th century" list. She was the first African-American
woman to deliver the keynote address.
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 was a keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention in 1992. In
1995, Jordan chaired a Congressional commission that advocated increased
restriction of immigration and increased penalties on employers that violated U.S.
immigration regulations.
Her seat in Congress is currently held by African-American 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.
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.