Barbara Jordan honored at lecture
The Rice community honored former Houston Congresswoman Barbara Jordan at the annual Walter and Helen Hall Lecture Series Wednesday night at which she was scheduled to speak before passing away on Jan. 17.
Last November, Jordan accepted the Sociology Department's invitation to speak at the lecture about immigration reform. The series was founded in the early 1980s, and Hall had been eager to have Jordan speak at the event from the beginning; however, Jordan was only able to make two or three public appearances a year.
Instead of canceling the event, President Malcolm Gillis encouraged the Sociology Department to hold a ceremony to honor her memory.
Several paid tribute to Jordan at the ceremony, offering words of admiration for her character and words of inspiration to the large audience in the Grand Hall of the Rice Memorial Center. After a welcome from Sociology Department Chair Chandler Davidson, Pastor Kirbyjon Caldwell of the Windsor Village United Methodist Church delivered the invocation. Following Kirbyjon, the Windsor Village Women's Choir directed by Kathy Taylor-Brown provided a moving and inspiring song of praise.
Sociology Professor Stephen Klineberg introduced Walter Hall as a "distinguished alumnist and generous Rice supporter." He also claimed that Hall, a "conservative country banker, dedicated so much of his life to the support of progressive causes and worked so hard to benefit his community" because he was a "citizen first and a banker second."
Next, Davidson gave an overview of Jordan's life. She was born Feb. 21, 1936, in the fifth ward of Houston. She attended Texas Southern University where her forensics team once tied a Harvard debate team. Her autobiography revealed that she had struggled through law school at Boston University. She wrote "I realize that my deprivation had been stark, separate was not equal. ... I felt that in order to compensate for what I had missed in earlier years I would have to work harder and study longer than anybody else."
In 1966, Jordan secured a seat in the Texas Senate, becoming the first black to sit in the Texas Senate since 1883 and the first African American woman ever to sit in either house of the Texas legislature. In 1972, Jordan was the first black woman ever elected from the South to the U.S. House of Representatives. She served three terms before retiring in 1978 to become a professor at the University of Texas.
Following Davidson's speech, Hall delivered a short eulogy, saying Jordan "was an inspiration to me and all who had the good fortune of coming into contact with her."
After more music from the choir, Caldwell spoke of Jordan's commitment to the community and the importance of the government pursuing her commitment to the Community Reinvestment Act and the Affirmative Action Program. He also shared a touching story of one of Jordan's close friends who said, "No matter how far Barbara went, no matter how high she rose, she always took her friends with her."
TSU Professor Cecile Harrison was next to speak. She identified Jordan as one with an uncommon voice, mind and intellect. Harrison worked as Jordan's campaign manager, leading a textbook campaign that involved visiting schools, senior citizen groups and neighborhoods, sending hand-addressed envelopes and making personal telephone calls.
She recalled Jordan's abilities as a teacher: "Her personality, her uncommon voice, her understanding of history, her love of the law, and her complete devotion to the Constitution defined her as a great teacher, both in her public life and as a professor at the university.
"Several speakers and writers who have reflected on Barbara Jordan's contribution recently have concluded that there will never be another Barbara Jordan. ... By God I hope there will be. We need a whole bunch more of Barbara Jordans, especially in Congress, but also in the universities, in the positions of leadership [and] in our communities."
Rev. Bill Lawson from Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church cited Jordan's honorary degrees from Harvard and other prestigious schools, and said, "Yet Barbara, with all that, never forgot where she came from."
He also praised Rice: "In a university which is celebrated for its technical skills like architecture and engineering, the fact that you've got one of the finest schools of social service anywhere in the nation, now that says a lot about Rice." He also cited all that was against Jordan and said, "My greatest wish is that whatever was the stewardship that made her feel that she had to achieve at all costs could be picked up by some of us."
The last speaker was U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee of the 18th Congressional District of Texas, Jordan's former district. She quoted from the Bible and addressed the students in her speech. She said, "Be like Barbara Jordan, be a change-maker and make this place a better place." Lee said Jordan was not only a first in life, but a first in death, being the first black person to be buried at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin.
The ceremony ended with Lawson's benediction.
Davidson said of the event, "Barbara Jordan was born and grew up and went to college during the Jim Crowe era and she overcame tremendous barriers to make a major contribution to American life and it seems fitting that a university which in the 1950s would not have admitted her if she applied should now make a special effort to honor her memory."
Afterwards, Davidson said, "this was the perfect kind of event I had hoped it would be. ...The speakers were outstanding as I knew they would be, and the chorus was moving."
In the U.S. House, Jordan served on the Judiciary Committee. She has been cited as Texas' most impressive orator. In 1973, she began to suffer from neurological impairment that eventually confined her to a wheelchair. She gained national recognition with a televised speech at the impeachment hearings of President Richard Nixon during the 1974 Watergate investigation.
In 1993, Jordan was appointed by President Clinton to chair the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform and received a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994. She died from pneumonia and complications of leukemia on Jan. 17. Her funeral took place at the Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church where several distinguished speakers were present, including President Clinton.
This item appeared in the News section of the February 9, 1996 issue.
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