56 Facts About Barbara Jordan

Barbara Charline Jordan was an American lawyer, educator, and politician.

Barbara Jordan is known for her work as chair of the US Commission on Immigration Reform.

Barbara Jordan received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, among numerous other honors.

Barbara Jordan was the first African-American woman to be buried in the Texas State Cemetery.

Barbara Charline Jordan was born in Houston, Texas's Fifth Ward.

Barbara Jordan's childhood was centered on church life at the Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church.

Barbara Jordan's mother was Arlyne Patten Jordan, a teacher in the church and a maid, and her father was Benjamin Jordan, a Baptist preacher and a warehouse worker.

Barbara Jordan would recite poetry at the church and would sing gospel music with her sisters.

In 1949, Barbara Jordan's father joined the Greater Pleasant Hill Baptist Church as the full-time pastor.

Barbara Jordan was the youngest of three children, with siblings Rose Mary Jordan McGowan and Bennie Creswell Jordan.

Barbara Jordan graduated from Phillis Wheatley High School in 1952 with honors.

At Texas Southern University, Barbara Jordan was a national champion debater, learning from her coach, Thomas Freeman, and defeating opponents from Yale and Brown, and tying Harvard University.

Barbara Jordan attended Boston University School of Law, graduating in 1959.

Barbara Jordan taught political science at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama for a year.

Barbara Jordan campaigned unsuccessfully in 1962 and 1964 for the Texas House of Representatives.

Barbara Jordan 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.

Aware of the challenges she would face, Barbara Jordan's goal was to be respected by the white conservatives in the Senate.

Barbara Jordan ran as a liberal Democrat, but she had strong relationships with the conservative wing of the Texas Democratic Party.

Re-elected to a full term in the Texas Senate in 1968, Barbara Jordan served until 1972.

Barbara Jordan 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.

Barbara Jordan was the first African-American woman to serve as governor of a state.

Additionally, Barbara 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.

Barbara Jordan was an advocate for her constituents and the working class while in the Texas Senate.

In 1972, Barbara Jordan was elected to the US House of Representatives, the first woman elected in her own right to represent Texas in the House.

Barbara Jordan received extensive support from former President Lyndon B Johnson, who helped her secure a position on the House Judiciary Committee.

In 1976, Barbara 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.

In November 1977, Barbara Jordan spoke at the 1977 National Women's Conference in Houston, Texas.

On July 25,1974, Barbara Jordan delivered a 15-minute televised speech in front of the members of the US House Judiciary Committee during the hearings that were part of the impeachment process against Richard Nixon.

Barbara Jordan defended the checks and balances system, which was set in place to inhibit any politician from abusing their power.

Barbara Jordan 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.

On July 12,1976, Barbara Jordan delivered a historic keynote address at the 1976 Democratic National Convention.

Barbara 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, Barbara Jordan represented the Democratic party's progress and acceptance of minorities as a black woman.

At Madison Square Garden, where the convention was held, Barbara Jordan's address ended with a 5-minute standing ovation, and during her speech, the audience interrupted with applause 20 times.

One of the messages of Barbara 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.

Barbara 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 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.

Barbara Jordan authored an act that ended federal authorization of price fixing by manufacturers.

Barbara Jordan was a proponent of the Equal Rights Amendment and issued a statement in support of extending the deadline in 1979.

Barbara Jordan was again a keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention in 1992.

Barbara Jordan was honored many times and was given over 20 honorary degrees from institutions across the country, including Harvard and Princeton, and was elected to the Texas and National Women's Halls of Fame.

From 1994 until her death, Barbara Jordan chaired the US Commission on Immigration Reform; she was appointed by President Bill Clinton.

The recommendations made by the US Commission on Immigration Reform under Barbara Jordan's leadership are frequently cited by American immigration restrictionists.

Barbara Jordan held a negative view on marriage and viewed it as a life of subservience.

Barbara Jordan believed that her family would accept her choice to be single only if she had a successful career.

Barbara Jordan developed multiple sclerosis in 1973, during her first year in Congress.

On July 31,1988, Barbara Jordan nearly drowned in her backyard swimming pool while doing physical therapy.

Barbara Jordan was saved by Earl, who found her floating in the pool and revived her.

Barbara Jordan died at the Austin Diagnostic Medical Center in Austin, Texas, on January 17,1996, at the age of 59.

Barbara Jordan had battled multiple sclerosis for several years before her death.

Barbara Jordan was the first African American to receive this honor.

Barbara Jordan was a member of the Peabody Awards Board of Jurors from 1978 to 1980.

The former sorting facility named after Barbara Jordan opened in 1962.

On March 27,2000, a play based on Barbara Jordan's life premiered at the Victory Garden Theater in Chicago, Illinois.

In 2012, Barbara Jordan was inducted into the Legacy Walk, an outdoor public display which celebrates LGBTQ history and people.

Barbara Jordan Changed the Nation: Barbara Jordan's Life and Legacy in Black Politics.