Barbara Jordan
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/Rep._Barbara_Jordan_-_Restoration.jpg/220px-Rep._Barbara_Jordan_-_Restoration.jpg)
Barbara Jordan (February 21, 1936 – January 17, 1996) was an American lawyer, educator and politician.[1] She was a leader of the Civil Rights Movement. She was a Democrat.
Jordan was the first African-American female elected to the Texas Senate after Reconstruction. She was also the first Southern African-American female elected to the United States House of Representatives.[2] She was best known for her opening statement at the House Judiciary Committee hearing during the impeachment process against Richard Nixon.[3]
Jordan taught political science at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama for a year. She later returned to Houston. She started a private law practice.
Jordan got a Presidential Medal of Freedom, with many other honors. She was a member of the Peabody Awards' Board of Jurors from 1978 to 1980.[4] She was the first African American female who was buried at the Texas State Cemetery.[5]
Jordan worked as the chair of the United States Commission Reform. The Chair recommended reducing legal immigration by one-third. This work is often cited by American restriction members.[6]
Jordan was born in Houston, Texas. She died due to complications of pneumonia at age 59 in Austin.
Recognition
[change | change source]- 1984: Inducted into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame
- 1990: Inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame
- 1992: The Spingarn Medal from the NAACP [7]
- 1993: The Elizabeth Blackwell Award from Hobart and William Smith Colleges
- 1994: The Presidential Medal of Freedom
- 1995: The second ever female awardee of the United States Military Academy's Sylvanus Thayer Award [8]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ "Barbara Jordan". Biography.com. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
- ↑ "Barbara Jordan Dies at 59". New York Times. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
- ↑ "Jordan, Barbara". History, Art and Archives. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
- ↑ "Peabody Awards' Board Members". Peabody Awards. Archived from the original on November 1, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
- ↑ "Jordan, Barbara". Humanities Texas. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
- ↑ "Was Barbara Jordan a 'White Nationalist?'". National Review. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
- ↑ "NAACP Spingarn Medal". Archived from the original on May 5, 2014. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
- ↑ "Barbara Jordan Sylvanus Thayer Award". Retrieved March 7, 2015.