Barbara Jordan

Full Name: Barbara Charline Jordan
Date of birth: February 21, 1936
Date of death: January 17, 1996

Terms of Service
Biographical Notes
Committee Information
Legislation

Terms of Service top

Chamber	District	Dates of Service	Legislatures	Party	City/County	Note	Counties in District
S	11	Jan 14, 1969 - Jan 9, 1973	62nd ⁽¹⁾ 61st 62nd ⁽¹⁾	Democrat	Houston / Harris	Senate President Pro Tempore (62nd)	Harris
S	11	Jan 10, 1967 - Jan 14, 1969	60th ⁽²⁾	Democrat	Houston / Harris		Harris

(1) 62nd Legislature - Senate President Pro Tempore, 2nd C.S., elected 3/28/1972; and Ad Interim 2nd C.S., elected 3/30/1972. Senate Journal.
(2) 60th Legislature - Drawing for Terms of Office, 1/11/1967, p. 19. Drew 2-year term. Senate Journal.

Terms of Service top

Senate District 11
Jan 14, 1969 - Jan 9, 1973
Legislatures: 62nd ⁽¹⁾ 61st 62nd ⁽¹⁾
Senate President Pro Tempore (62nd)
(62nd)
(62nd)
Party: Democrat
Home City/County: Houston / Harris
Counties in district: Harris

Senate District 11
Jan 10, 1967 - Jan 14, 1969
Legislatures: 60th ⁽²⁾
Party: Democrat
Home City/County: Houston / Harris
Counties in district: Harris

Biographical Information top

Selected newspaper articles

Resolutions and Journal entries

60th Legislature, R.S., SR 749, appreciation for contribution and dedicated service to her State. Resolutions - Congratulatory and Honorary.
61st Legislature, R.S., SR 180, removal of "Men Only" sign from Senate Members Lounge. Resolutions - Congratulatory and Honorary.
61st Legislature, R.S., SR 188. Resolutions - Congratulatory and Honorary.
61st Legislature, R.S., SR 828, Honorary Doctor of Laws, Boston University, May 18, 1969. Resolutions - Congratulatory and Honorary.
62nd Legislature, R.S., SR 428. Resolutions - Congratulatory and Honorary.
63rd Legislature, R.S., SR 286, commissioning an artist to paint a portrait of the Honorable Barbara Jordan to be displayed in the Senate. Resolutions - Congratulatory and Honorary.
85th Legislature, R.S., HR 452, celebrating Black History Month and honoring the leadership and vision of African American lawmakers. Resolutions - Congratulatory and Honorary.
87th Legislature, R.S., HCR 5, directing the Texas Facilities Commission to name the building being constructed on the east side of North Congress Avenue between 16th and 17th Streets the Barbara Jordan Building. Resolutions - Congratulatory and Honorary.
75th Legislature, R.S., HCR 90. Resolutions - Memorial.

Biographical Sketches

Speeches in LRL collection, 923.2764 J761P 1999. Barbara C. Jordan, Selected Speeches, 1999.
Biography in LRL collection, 923.2764 J761BR 1977. Barbara Charline Jordan: From the Ghetto to the Capitol, 1977.
Biography in LRL collection, 923.2764 J761. Barbara Jordan, 1977.
Autobiography in LRL collection, 923.2764 J761B. Barbara Jordan, A Self-Portrait, 1979.
Biography in LRL collection, YOUNG TEXANS. Barbara Jordan, Congresswoman, 1990.
Biography in LRL collection, 923.2764 J761R 1998. Barbara Jordan: American Hero, 1998.
Biography and speeches in LRL collection, 923.2764 J761S. Barbara Jordan: Speaking the Truth with Eloquent Thunder, 2007.
Biography in LRL collection, YOUNG TEXANS. Barbara Jordan: The Great Lady from Texas, 1990.
JORDAN, Barbara Charline (1936-1996). Representative, TX. Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress.
Biographical sketch, pp. 166-167, 199. Black Women in Texas History, 2008.
Photo and biographical sketch, Barbara Charline Jordan, pp. 145-151. First black state senator since 1883, first African American woman in Texas legislature, first black woman from southern state and first black Texan in Congress. Capitol Women: Texas Female Legislators, 1923-1999, 2000.
Biographical sketch, pp. 65-69. Extraordinary Texas Women, 2008.
JORDAN, BARBARA CHARLINE (1936-1996). Handbook of Texas Online.
Biographical sketch, legislative record, honors and citations, and civic and community activities, pp. 141-146. Negro Legislators of Texas and Their Descendants, 1970.
Oral history interview available in Oral History Collection, University of North Texas.
Photos and biographical sketch. Profiles in Power: Twentieth-Century Texans in Washington, 2004.
Biographical sketch in LRL collection, 340.092 C366R 2008. Rough Road to Justice: The Journey of Women Lawyers in Texas, 2008.
Jordan, Barbara Charline. Texas State Cemetery.
Biographical sketch, "Barbara Jordan: The Paradox of Black Female Ambition," 305.409764 T852T 2015. Texas Women: Their Histories, Their Lives, 2015.
Biography in LRL collection, YOUNG TEXANS. What Do You Do with a Voice Like That?: The Story of Extraordinary Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, 2018.
Biographical sketch and photo. Women of the Texas Senate, 2019.
Biographical sketch and photo. Women of the Texas Senate, 2017.
Biographical sketch and photo, Women of the Texas Senate. Women's Suffrage in Texas: Struggle, the Story: Successes, Notable Firsts: Senators, Women of the Texas Senate, 2019.
Biography in LRL collection, YOUNG TEXANS. ¿Qué haces con una voz así?: La historia de la extraordinaria congresista Bárbara Jordan, 2021.

Other Resources

Photo and election to Texas Legislature, p. 110. Austin Lawyers: A Legacy of Leadership and Service, 2005.
Relatives: Barbara Jordan - great-granddaughter, Edward Patton - great-grandfather. Capitol Women: Texas Female Legislators, 1923-1999, 2000.
Press release, Barbara Jordan appointed special counselor to the Governor, 12/5/1990. Governor Ann W. Richards.
Papers from a seminar hosted by Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, State Senator Bob Gammage, and State Representative Mickey Leland and held 11/30-12/1/1973 at the Bates College of Law, University of Houston. LRL collection, 362.1 H349 1973. Health Care Problems in Texas, 1973.
Photo, mentioned in Minority Civil Rights and the Texas Legislature, 2018.
Civil rights involvement and legislative career discussed in Merlene Pitre, "Texas and the Master Civil Rights Narrative: A Case Study of Black Females in Houston," Volume 116, Number 2, October 2012, pp. 125-137. Southwestern Historical Quarterly.
Barbara Jordan's Democratic Convention keynote address, New York, New York, July 12, 1976, Who then will speak for the common good? Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public Affairs, The University of Texas at Austin.
Barbara Jordan's Democratic Convention keynote address, New York, New York, July 13, 1992, Change: from what to what? Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public Affairs, The University of Texas at Austin.
Frances Tarlton 'Sissy' Farenthold: A Noble Citizen, April 23-24, 2015, conference program, photo of Sissy Farenthold and Barbara Jordan. Presented by the Bernard and Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice, School of Law, The University of Texas at Austin.
Remembering Professor Barbara Jordan: An Oral History. Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public Affairs, The University of Texas at Austin.

Photographs

Photograph. Barbara Jordan, 62nd Legislature, 62nd Legislature, Senate Media
Photograph. Barbara Jordan, 62nd Legislature, 62nd Legislature, Senate Media
Photograph. Barbara Jordan, 62nd Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. Barbara Jordan, 61st Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. Barbara Jordan, 60th Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. Barbara Jordan, State Preservation Board

Composite Photographs on Display in the Capitol

60th session composite photo of Senate members (Ground floor corridor, south wall. GE.C1). State Preservation Board.
61st session composite photo of Senate members (Ground floor corridor, south wall. GE.C1). State Preservation Board.
62nd session composite photo of Senate members (Ground floor corridor, south wall. GE.C1). State Preservation Board.

Committee Information top

62nd R.S. - 1971 Drug Study, Interim Education Environment Finance Intergovernmental Relations Interstate Cooperation Jurisprudence Labor and Management Relations (Chair) Legislative, Congressional and Judicial Districts (Vice Chair) Nominations Personnel Policy Prairie View A&M College, Investigation Prairie View A&M College, Investigation, Special Privileges and Elections State Affairs State Departments and Institutions State Departments and Institutions Subcommittee on Construction of the Bauer House for the Chancellor at the University of Texas at Austin Youth Affairs
61st R.S. - 1969 Education Election Law (Vice Chair) Finance Jurisprudence Labor and Management Relations (Chair) Legislative, Congressional, and Judicial Districts Lunar Landing Commission Military and Veterans Affairs Penal Servitude and Parole Privileges and Elections (Vice Chair) Public Health State Affairs Urban Affairs (Chair) Welfare Reform Youth Affairs
60th R.S. - 1967 Education Emergency Hospital Treatment Interstate Cooperation Jurisprudence Labor and Management Relations (Vice Chair) Nominations Privileges and Elections Slums and Slum Clearance State Affairs

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