AAUW Dialog

Earlier today we heard the beginning of the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States, We the people … When that document was completed, on the seventeenth of September in 1787, I was not included in that We, the people. I felt somehow for many years that George Washington and Alexander Hamilton just left me out by mistake. But through the process of amendment, interpretation, and court decision I have finally been included in We, the people.

—Barbara Jordan

Barbara Jordan was born on February 21, 1936, in Houston, Texas. She attended Texas Southern University, where she studied political science and history and became a national champion debater. After graduation in 1956, Jordan’s desire to stop racial injustice compelled her to apply to law school. She graduated from Boston University School of Law in 1959 and went on to teach political science at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama before opening a private law firm in Houston.

Barbara Jordan (Image Courtesy of the Library of Congress)

Jordan began her political career in 1966 when she became the first African American woman elected to the Texas Senate. Jordan maintained a powerful voice while serving in the state’s legislature. On March 21, 1967, she became the first African American to preside over the state’s legislative body. She was also the first black state senator to chair a major committee, the Committee on Labor and Management Relations, as well as the first freshman state senator to be named to the Texas Legislative Council.

Jordan’s political success did not end in Texas politics. In November 1972, she was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas’ 18th Congressional District, becoming the first African American to represent Texas as well as the first African American woman to represent a southern state in Congress. During her time in Congress, Jordan was well known for sponsoring bills — such as the Workman’s Compensation Act, the Community Reinvestment Act, and the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 — that represented the struggles of the poor, of African Americans, and of other disadvantaged people.

Jordan first gained national attention while serving on the House Judiciary Committee during President Richard Nixon’s impeachment hearing because of her strong defense of the U.S. Constitution. Her national prominence grew in 1976 when she was asked to deliver the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention. Jordan became the first African American to speak at a major political convention.

In 1979, after six years in Congress, Jordan decided to forgo a reelection bid and began teaching at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas. In 1990, she was voted one of the most influential women of the 20th century by the National Women’s Hall of Fame. Four years later, Jordan received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work in public office.

Barbara Jordan passed away on January 17, 1996. She will always be remembered for paving the way and creating opportunities for so many other women. Through her work in public office and in the private sector, she is a prime example of a woman who fought to break through barriers for those who followed.

Courtney Ross is a Fellow in AAUW’s Public Policy and Government Relations department.  Courtney is a junior at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island, where she is majoring in political science with minors in both philosophy and legal studies. She is studying and interning in D.C. until May through the Washington Internship Institute. Courtney is extremely excited to have this opportunity to spend a semester in D.C. and to learn about the culture of the city. She is looking forward to working at AAUW and dedicating her time towards furthering equity for women.