Barbara Jordan
| Barbara Jordan | |
|---|---|
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 18th district |
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In office January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1979 |
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| Preceded by | Bob Price |
| Succeeded by | Mickey Leland |
| Member of the Texas Senate from the 11th district |
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In office January 10, 1967 – January 3, 1973 |
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| Preceded by | Bill Moore |
| Succeeded by | Chet Brooks |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Barbara Charline Jordan February 21, 1936 Houston, Texas, U.S. |
| Died |
January 17, 1996 (aged 59) Austin, Texas, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Domestic partner | Nancy Earl (late 1960s–1996) |
| Alma mater |
Texas Southern University Boston University |
| Religion | Baptist |
Barbara Charline Jordan (February 21, 1936 – January 17, 1996) was a lawyer, educator, an American politician, and a leader of the Civil Rights Movement. A Democrat, she was the first African American elected to the Texas Senate after Reconstruction, the first Southern African-American woman elected to the United States House of Representatives. She was best-known for her eloquent opening statement at the House Judiciary Committee hearings during the impeachment process against Richard Nixon, and as the first African-American woman to deliver a keynote address at a Democratic National Convention. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, among numerous other honors. She was a member of the Peabody Awards Board of Jurors from 1978 to 1980. She was the first African-American woman to be buried in the Texas State Cemetery.
Barbara Charline Jordan was born in Houston, Texas's Fourth Ward. Jordan's childhood centered on church life. Her mother was Arlyne Patten Jordan, a teacher in the church, and her father was Benjamin Jordan, a Baptist preacher. Barbara Jordan was the youngest of 3 children, with siblings Rosemary Jordan McGowan and Bennie Jordan Creswell (d. 2000). Jordan attended Roberson Elementary School. She graduated from Phillis Wheatley High School in 1952 with honors.
Jordan credited a speech she heard in her high school years by Edith S. Sampson with inspiring her to become a lawyer. 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. At Texas Southern University, Jordan was a national champion debater, defeating opponents from Yale and Brown and tying Harvard University. She graduated magna cum laude in 1956. At Texas Southern University, she pledged Delta Sigma Theta sorority. She attended Boston University School of Law, graduating in 1959.
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