Barbara Jordan was the daughter of a Baptist preacher and the great-granddaughter of one of the last Black members of the Texas House of Representatives before the disenfranchisement of Black citizens under Jim Crow.

Barbara Jordan was the daughter of a Baptist preacher and the great-granddaughter of one of the last Black members of the Texas House of Representatives before the disenfranchisement of Black citizens under Jim Crow.

She won a seat in the Texas Senate in 1966, becoming the first African-American state senator in Texas since 1883. In 1972, she was elected to the US House of Representatives, becoming the first woman to represent Texas, and also served on the House Judiciary Committee. Jordan was also an accomplished public speaker, delivering powerful, memorable speeches in support of civil rights and justice. In 1994, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

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