One person even posted a message on a series of billboards in Houston: Thank you, Barbara Jordan, for explaining the Constitution to us.11 The Watergate impeachment hearings helped create Jordans reputation as a respected national politician. . The papers document the political and professional career of Barbara Jordan and are divided into State Senate Papers, U.S. House of Representatives Papers, and Personal Papers. After attending Roberson Elementary School, Jordan attended Phyllis Wheatley High School and graduated in 1952. Barbara Jordan, age 76, passed away peacefully on Sunday, January 18, 2015. Date accessed. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation Headquarters: 185 Berry St., Suite 2000, San Francisco, CA 94107 | Phone 650-854-9400 She told the crowd, "My presence here . [6][7], Jordan taught political science at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama for a year. 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. Her father Benjamin was a Baptist preacher, and her mother Arlyne was active in the church as a women's leader and teacher. Jordan soon turned her attention toward educating future generations of politicians and public officials, accepting a professorship at the University of Texas at Austin. Welcome to Barbara Jordan Elementary! Barbara Jordan, February 21, 1936 - January 17, 1996. She attended Texas Southern University in Houston, becoming a member of the debate team that tied Harvard University in a debateone of her proudest college moments. Barbara Jordan was born in Houston Texas's Fifth Ward. Curtin, Mary Ellen, "Reaching for Power: Barbara C. Jordan and Liberals in the Texas Legislature, 1966-1972." Austin. [8] Because of segregation, she could not attend The University of Texas at Austin and instead chose Texas Southern University, an historically black institution, majoring in political science and history. Aghahowa, Brenda Eatman. In 1994, Clinton awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the NAACP presented her with the Spingarn Medal. View Record in the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress. In 1975, when Congress voted to extend the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Jordan sponsored legislation that broadened the provisions of the act to include Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, and Asian Americans. Barbara Jordan was educated in the Houston public schools and graduated from Phyllis Wheatley High School in 1952. Her mother was Arlyne Patten Jordan, a teacher in the church, [1] [6] and her father was Benjamin Jordan, a Baptist preacher. She was the elected to the U.S Congress and served from 1973 to 1979. . 2019. www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/barbara-jordan. However, she lost again so in 1966 she decided to run for the Texas Senate instead. She campaigned widely for Democratic presidential candidate Jimmy Carter, who defeated President Ford in the general election. Known for her outspoken leadership, Barbara J. Jordan was born in New York City but grew up in South Miami-Dade, where she learned the value of hard work, sometimes working in the bean fields with her family. LocatePeople.org. New York: Bantam Books, 1998. Here's what. She captured the attention of U.S. Pres. Johnson, Linda Carlson. United States House of Representatives: History, Art, & Archives, Origins & Development: From the Constitution to the Modern House, Joint Meetings, Joint Sessions, & Inaugurations, Presidents, Vice Presidents, & Coinciding Sessions of Congress, Individuals Who Have Lain in State or Honor, Foreign Leaders and Dignitaries Who Have Addressed the U.S. Congress, Calendars of the House of Representatives, Search Historical Highlights of the House, Chief Administrative Officers of the House, John W. McCormack Annual Award of Excellence to Congressional Employees, House Members Who Became U.S. Supreme Court Justices, House Members Who Received Electoral College Votes, Asian and Pacific Islander Americans in Congress, Jeannette Rankins Historic Election: A Century of Women in Congress, Joseph H. Rainey: 150 Years of Black Americans Elected to Congress, Campaign Collectibles: Running for Congress, Electronic Technology in the House of Representatives, Portraits in the House of Representatives, On Display: Exhibitions from the House Collection, The Peoples House: A Guide to Its History, Spaces, and Traditions, An Annual Outing: The Congressional Baseball Game, Florence Kahn: Congressional Widow to Trailblazing Lawmaker, Mace of the U.S. House of Represen- tatives, The Long Struggle for Representation: Oral Histories of African Americans in Congress, National History Day 2023: Frontiers in History, Time for a Tour: Visiting the Peoples House, Researching the House: Other Primary Sources, https://history.house.gov/People/Listing/J/JORDAN,-Barbara-Charline-(J000266)/. Barbara Jordan. In news reports across the country, her 15-minute statement at the Watergate hearings was part of the lede of her obituary.. Barbara Jordan Freedom Foundation c/o William B. Hilgers 301 Congress Avenue, Suite 520 Austin, Texas 78701. Springfield, N. J.: Enslow Publishers, 1997. The family would like to thank the doctors and nurses for the good care Barbara received. "I am not going to sit here and be an idle spectator to the diminution, the subversion, the destruction of the Constitution," she said in a nationally televised speech during the proceedings. About Barbara Jordan. December 18, 2013. https://www.kff.org/about-barbara-jordan/. [9] Re-elected to a full term in the Texas Senate in 1968, she served until 1972. The nation mourned the loss of a great pioneer who shaped the political landscape with her dedication to the Constitution, her commitment to ethics and her impressive oratory skills. Following this, Jordan continued to advocate for civil rights protections for many Americans. Gregory was born circa 1831, in Stoke Climsland, Cornwall, England. Jordans success in Texas politics came from her knowledge of and adherence to the rules of the political process. Four years later, she became the first major-party Black candidate to make a bid for the U.S. presidency. After graduating from Texas Southern University in 1956, Jordan continued her studies at Boston University Law School. She was the first African American congresswoman to come from the South. Jordan, Barbara. Accessed November 5, 2019. https://www.womenofthehall.org/inductee/barbara-jordan/. Michael Jordan is a former American basketball player who led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships and won the Most Valuable Player Award five times. The . Barbara Jordan's involvement with other Members of Congress is represented in the papers, as well as her involvement with the Democratic National Committee, and correspondence in reaction to her keynote speech at the 1976 Democratic Convention. Barbara Jordan. In the next two campaign cycles, Jordan overwhelmed her opposition, capturing 85 percent of the total vote in both general elections.5 Barbara Jordan February 21, 1936-January 17, 1996 In July 1974, as the Watergate hearings took place, one voice stood out expressing faith in American ideals. In the 1972 Democratic primary, Jordan faced Curtis Graves, another Black state legislator, who attacked her for being too close to the white establishment. Her attention to influence inside the House was demonstrated by where she sat in the House Chambers large, theater-style seating arrangement. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Barbara Jordan. Ph.D. She married Joseph Wade on 2 June 1789, in Nelson, Kentucky, United States. As a high school student, she became a skilled public speaker, winning a national debate contest in 1952. She was the first African-American female to serve as president pro tempore of the state senate and served one day, June 10, 1972, as acting governor of Texas. Family and friends can send flowers and condolences in memory of the loved one. Im not going to Washington and turn things upside down in a day, she told supporters at a rally. [Barbara Jordan and Family] Description Photograph of the women of the Jordan family. Context [17], Jordan supported the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, legislation that required banks to lend and make services available to underserved poor and minority communities. Barbara Jordan: American hero. While her educational work was the focus of her later years, Jordan never fully stepped away from public life. January 17, 1996. Also, she was the first African American state senator in United States since 1883. https://www.biography.com/law-figure/barbara-jordan. Famed Texas Senator Barbara Jordan has been honored with a memorial stretch of highway near Texas State University. Barbara Jordan rose to the national stage from Houston's largely African-American Fifth Ward, becoming a public defender of the U.S. Constitution and a leading presence in Democratic Party politics for two decades. She was one of the few Black students in the program. The following year, Jordan once again took the national stage to deliver a speech at the Democratic National Convention. Barbara was born in Grand Bay, Alabama in 1936, the eldest of 6. They had one son: Gregory William Jordon. Aretha Louise Franklin was born on March 25, 1942, to Barbara (ne Siggers) and Clarence LaVaughn "C. L." Franklin.She was delivered at her family's home located at 406 Lucy Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee.Her father was a Baptist minister and circuit preacher originally from Shelby, Mississippi, while her mother was an accomplished piano player and vocalist. 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