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Barbara Jordan
Historical Figure
Nationality: United States
Year of Birth: 1936
Year of Death: 1996
Cause of Death: Pneumonia
Religion: Baptist
Occupation: Lawyer, Educator, Politician
Spouse: Nancy Earl (common-law)
Political Party: Democratic Party
Political Office(s): United States Representative from Texas
Fictional Appearances:
State of Jefferson
POD: Pre-history;
Relevant POD: 1919
Appearance(s): "Peace is Better"
Type of Appearance: Contemporary reference
Political Office(s): United States Representative from Texas

Barbara Charline Jordan (February 21, 1936 – January 17, 1996) was a lawyer, educator, an American politician, and a leader of the Civil Rights movement. A Democrat, she was the first African American elected to the Texas Senate after Reconstruction, the first Southern African American female elected to the United States House of Representatives, the first confirmed lesbian elected to the United States Congress (though this was not made public during her tenure), and the first African-American woman to deliver a keynote address at a Democratic National Convention. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, among numerous other honors. She was a member of the Peabody Awards Board of Jurors from 1978 to 1980. On her death, she became the first African-American woman to be buried in the Texas State Cemetery.

Barbara Jordan in State of Jefferson[]

Barbara Jordan's speech during President Richard Nixon's impeachment hearings was remembered for some time after she gave it in 1974. In 1979, Barbara Rasmussen, publicist for Jefferson Governor Bill Williamson, reflected that the speech was the first time she'd heard the word gravitas, which had been applied to Jordan. Rasmussen used the word to describe the Yeti Lama. Williamson agreed that the word applied to both Jordan and the Yeti Lama.[1]

References[]

  1. Thirty Days Later: Steaming Forward: 30 Adventures in Time, loc. 2286.
Political offices
(OTL)
Preceded by
William T. Moore
Member of the Texas Senate
from the Texas Senate, District 11

1967–1973
Succeeded by
Chet Brooks
Preceded by
Bob Price
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 18th congressional district

1973–1979
Succeeded by
Mickey Leland
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