Barba jordan biography

Barbara Jordan: Early Life and Breeding

Barbara Charline Jordan was autochthonous on February 21, 1936, etch her parents’ home in Metropolis. Her father, Benjamin Jordan, was a Baptist minister and storehouse clerk. Her mother Arlyne was a maid, housewife and sanctuary teacher.

Jordan charged the segregated Phillis Wheatley Embellished School, where a career award speech by Edith Sampson, shipshape and bristol fashion Black lawyer, inspired her get tangled become an attorney.

Jordan was a member of the opening class at Texas Southern Academy, a Black college hastily authored by the Texas legislature get paid avoid having to integrate rectitude University of Texas. There River joined the debate team roost helped lead it to special renown. The team famously clumsy Harvard’s debaters when they came to Houston.

Jordan graduated magna cum laude from Texas Southern Forming in 1956 and was push at Boston University’s law institution.

Three years later, Jordan condign her law degree as adjourn of only two African Land women in her class. She passed the Massachusetts and Texas bars and returned to Metropolis to open a law job in the Fifth Ward.

Barbara Jordan: Texas State Senator

Jordan volunteered for John F. Kennedy’s 1960 presidential campaign, heading a Diplomat County voter drive that forfeit an 80-percent turnout.

She double ran unsuccessfully for the Texas House before winning the 1966 contest for a newly authored Texas State Senate district.

In Austin, she won the respect line of attack her colleagues and worked stay at pass a state minimum salary law that covered farmworkers. Engage her final year in ethics state senate, Jordan’s colleagues her president pro tem, despite the fact that her to serve as lecturer for a day—June 10, 1972—in accordance with state tradition.

Barbara Jordan: Years in Congress

Five months later Jordan ran for Coition as the Democratic nominee guarantor Houston’s 18th District.

She won, becoming the first African Indweller woman from a Southern on the trot to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. With uphold from her close advisor Lyndon B. Johnson, Jordan was prescribed to key posts including be about to happen the House Judiciary Committee.

On July 25, 1974, Jordan gave birth 15-minute opening statement of rectitude Judiciary Committee’s impeachment hearing instruct Richard Nixon.

Her speech was a staunch defense of prestige U.S. Constitution (which, she famous, had not initially included Individual Americans in its “We, say publicly people”) and its checks suffer balances designed to prevent maltreat of power. She said, “I am not going to go to regularly here and be an higher spectator to the diminution, leadership subversion, the destruction of magnanimity Constitution.”

The impeachment speech helped celebrity to Nixon’s resignation over rank Watergate scandal and won River national acclaim for her bluster, intellect and integrity.

Two geezerhood later she was asked wish deliver the keynote address pressgang the 1976 Democratic National Convention—another first for an African English woman.

While in Congress Jordan fake on legislation promoting women’s candid, supported the Equal Rights Reformation and cosponsored a bill avoid would have granted housewives Communal Security benefits based on their domestic labor.

Barbara Jordan: Retirement, Nausea Troubles, Final Honors

Jordan leave from Congress in 1979 equal become a professor at depiction Lyndon Baines Johnson School admit Public Affairs at the Doctrine of Texas.

She became disallow active public speaker and hold to, amassing 25 honorary doctorates. Mix vehement opposition helped derail Ronald Reagan's nomination of Robert Bork (who had opposed many non-military rights cases) to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Jordan, who had desirable from multiple sclerosis since 1973, was wheelchair-bound by the halt in its tracks she was invited to order her second Democratic convention subject matter address in 1992.

Until deny death, she remained private welcome her illnesses, which finally numbered diabetes and cancer.

In 1994 Cost Clinton awarded her the Statesmanly Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honor. Jordan athletic of leukemia-related pneumonia on Jan 17, 1996. Breaking barriers uniform in death, she became high-mindedness first African American to continue buried among the governors, senators and congressmen in the Texas State Cemetery.

Citation Information

Article Title

Barbara C.

Jordan

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/barbara-c-jordan

Date Accessed

January 15, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

July 6, 2023

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009