Barbara Jordan
Barbara Charline Jordan 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, 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. 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.
Early life, family, and education
Barbara Charline Jordan was born in Houston, Texas's Fifth Ward. Jordan's childhood was centered on church life at the Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church. Her mother was Arlyne Patten Jordan, a teacher in the church and a maid. Her father was Benjamin Jordan, a Baptist preacher and a warehouse worker. Jordan would recite poetry at the church and would sing gospel music with her sisters. In 1949, Jordan's father joined the Greater Pleasant Hill Baptist Church as the full-time pastor.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.
Jordan attended Roberson Elementary School. She graduated from Phillis Wheatley High School in 1952 with honors. At Wheatley, Jordan's linguistic abilities were developed through the support of her teachers and curriculum. 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 debater, 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.
Early career
Jordan taught political science at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama for a year. In 1960, she returned to Houston and started a private law practice. During that time, the 24-year-old Jordan was one of only two black women attorneys in Texas. To start off her career, Jordan became the first Black woman to work as an administrative assistant to a county judge, Bill Elliott. Jordan began her work in politics in 1960 when she became a volunteer for the John F. Kennedy-Lyndon B. Johnson campaign, traveling to African American churches in Houston to encourage people to vote.Political career
Texas Senate
Jordan campaigned unsuccessfully in 1962 and 1964 for the Texas House of Representatives. Along with Curtis Graves and Joe Lockridge, she was one of three African American members elected in 1966 to the Texas Legislature, the first ones since 1896. With Jordan elected to the Texas Senate, she became the first black woman to serve in that body. She served the Eleventh Senate District in Houston, which had just been created after Kilgarlin v. Martin in which the federal court demanded redistricting of the Texas Legislature because densely populated urban areas were underrepresented in comparison to rural areas. In a speech at Rice University following the district's creation, but before her election, Jordan said, "For the first time in Texas, we are going to have legislators who represent people, not cattle."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. 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.
U.S. House of Representatives
In 1972, Jordan was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, the first woman elected in her own right to represent Texas in the House. She received extensive support from former President Lyndon B. 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, Johnson's successor as president. In 1975, she was appointed by Carl Albert, then Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, to the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee.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. Despite not being a candidate, Jordan received one delegate vote 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.
American Oratory and Statement on Articles of Impeachment
On July 25, 1974, Jordan delivered a 15-minute televised speech in front of the members of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee during the hearings that were part of the impeachment process against Richard Nixon.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 Nixon impeached, but rather subtly and cleverly implied her thoughts. 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.
1976 Democratic National Convention Keynote
On July 12, 1976, Jordan delivered a historic keynote address at the 1976 Democratic National Convention. This address was the first time a major political party's nominating convention had an African American as the keynote speaker. Jordan was chosen as a speaker because she was a Democratic member of the Judiciary Committee and made an impact with her remarks during the impeachment process of Nixon. Additionally, Jordan represented the Democratic party's progress and acceptance of minorities as a black woman. Jordan's usage of American values in her address, primarily national unity, American traditions, and the importance of politicians as responsible public servants, appealed to the general public and led to a largely positive reaction. At Madison Square Garden, where the convention was held, Jordan's address ended with a 5-minute standing ovation, and during her speech, the audience interrupted with applause 20 times.Many delegates wanted Jordan to become Jimmy Carter's 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. 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.