Womens History Month
By: Karlee Kirking
Barbra C. Jordan
Barbara Charline Jordan was born February 21, 1936, in her parents’ home in Houston.
Honors and Achievements
- Jordan graduated from Texas Southern University in 1956 and was accepted at Boston University’s law school. Three years later, Jordan earned her law degree as one of only two African-American women in her class. She passed the Massachusetts and Texas bars and returned to Houston to open a law office in the Fifth Ward.
- Jordan ran for Congress as the Democratic nominee for Houston’s 18th District. She won, becoming the first African-American woman from a Southern state to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.
- She was asked to deliver the keynote address at the 1976 Democratic National Convention—another first for an African-American woman.
Bibliography
"Barbara C. Jordan." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2015.