Barbara Jordan
(1936-1996)

American Politician
National Women's Hall of Fame
1989 Hubert Humphrey Civil Rights Award
1992 National Freedom Award
1994 Presidential Medal of Freedom

birthdate: February 21
birthplace:
Houston, Texas

In 1972, Barbara Jordan, a leader in the Civil Rights Movement, became the first African-American woman elected to Congress. Despite suffering from multiple sclerosis, she excelled in her political career, and captured national attention with insightful speeches and questioning as a member of the House Judiciary Hearings during the impeachment hearings for Richard Nixon in 1974. Her progressive legislative achievements included helping to expand the Voting Rights Act to protect minorities that spoke other languages, and the Community Reinvestment Act, which required banks to invest in poor and minority communities. In 1976, she was chosen to deliver the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention - the first African American woman ever to do so. Many historians consider her speech one of the best ever delivered at a political convention. Barbara Jordan left Congress in 1979 to serve as a professor at the LBJ School at the University of Texas, where she taught for the rest of her life. For a lifetime of achievement, Barbara Jordan received many awards and accolades, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. A statue of Barbara Jordan was unveiled at the University of Texas in Austin, and in 1999, Texas Monthly Magazine named her "Role Model of the Century."

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