so i was asked today, who is barbara jordan?
(she was my response to whom i would like to have lunch with, given my choice of anyone,
or question #52 of the survey, for those who are counting)
Barbara Jordan was a brilliant, brilliant woman. And
she was one tough cookie. She was elected to the
Texas Senate in 1966, becoming the first female
African-American to do so. In 1972, she was elected
president pro-tempore of the Texas Senate - the
first African-American elected to preside over a
legislative body anywhere in the country. When
Jordan was elected to the U.S. House of
Representatives in 1972 she became the first
African-American woman to represent a previously
Confederate state in Congress.
In 1976, Barbara Jordan became the first
African-American Woman to deliver a keynote address
at a political convention. She gained national
prominence for the position she took and the
statement she made at the 1974 impeachment hearing
of President Richard Nixon. In casting a "yes" vote,
Jordan stated, "My faith in the Constitution is
whole, it is complete, it is total. I am not going to sit here
and be an idle spectator to the diminution, the subversion,
the destruction of the Constitution." She was chosen
as a keynote speaker for the Democratic National
Convention in 1976, and again in 1992.
Jordan mesmerized the nation with her eloquent oratory,
her skillful interpretation of U.S. history and constitutional law,
and her rigorous devotion to ethical standards in politics and society.
After retiring from political life she spent her final 17 years teaching
at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin.
She lived in Austin with her partner, Nancy Earl, for two decades.
(The two met on a camping trip in the 1960's )
There is no record of Jordan ever being asked about
her sexual orientation, but early in her career she
was warned by campaign managers to avoid being
photographed with her female companion. This was
before she met Earl.
Jordan was also very secretive about her health. She
attributed her need of a cane in her final days in
Congress to a "bum knee." In actuality, it was the
progress of MS that inhibited her movement. In July
1988 Jordan nearly drowned when she lost
consciousness in her backyard swimming pool. It was
Earl who saved her life, resuscitating her and
calling for help. Earl continued tending to Jordan's
daily needs through her battles with MS and leukemia
for the remainder of her life. Jordan suffered from a number
of ailments in her later years and was confined to a wheelchair.
Barbara Jordan died from complications to pneumonia in 1996.
She was 59 years old.
Barbara Jordan rec'd Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994,
She was selected as "One of the Most Influential Women of the 20th Century" by the National Women's Hall of Fame (1993); given recognition by the International Platform Association as the "Best Living Orator" (1984); and selected by the World Almanac as "One of the 25 Most Influential Women in America" for 12 consecutive years.
Oh, and lest I forget. Barbara Jordan rec'd her degree in law from.....
Boston University.
She was the second reason I went to BU.
(the first being the highest percentage of female engineering students in the country, at that time)
now aren't you glad you asked.
