It is Black History month. Black lesbians made history too! Today marks the 76th birthday of Barbara Jordan. Representative Barbara Jordan was the first women from Texas to serve in Congress, the first African-American woman elected to Congress from a southern state. She was known as an outstanding orator & Constitutional scholar. If she had lived she may have served in the current administration or on the Supreme Court, as Bill Clinton intended. She received The Presidential Medal Of Freedom in 1994.
In 1976, Jordan, mentioned as a possible running mate to Jimmy Carter, became the first African-American woman to deliver the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention. Her speech in NYC that summer is ranked 5th in Top 100 American Speeches of the 20th Century list by the Association of University Professors.
Jordan was a lesbian with a longtime companion of more than 25 years, Nancy Earl; Jordan never publicly acknowledged her sexual orientation, but in her obituary, the Houston Chronicle mentioned her longtime relationship with Earl. After Jordan’s initial unsuccessful statewide races, advisers warned her to become more discreet.
At Jordan’s funeral in 1996, President Clinton: “Whenever she stood to speak, she jolted the nation’s attention with her artful & articulate defense of the Constitution, the American Dream, & the common heritage & destiny we share, whether we like it or not. ”
Her legacy continues on through the Jordan/Rustin Coalition. The mission of the Coalition is to empower Black lesbian, gay, bisexual & transgender individuals & families in Greater LA, to promote equal marriage rights & to advocate for fair treatment of everyone without regard to race, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.
Jordan was diagnosed with MS in 1973, Leukemia is the 1980s & died of complications from Pneumonia in 1996.
“A spirit of harmony can only survive if each of us remembers, when bitterness & self-interest seem to prevail, that we share a common destiny.”
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