She Changed the Nation

The Life and Legacy of Barbara Jordan

Mary Ellen Curtin

• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
• Year: 2024
• ISBN:
  9781512825817
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Political Biographies
• Index: Politics & International Relations

An important new biography of Barbara Jordan, the first Black woman from the South to serve in Congress During her keynote speech at the 1976 Democratic Party convention, Barbara Jordan of Texas stood before a rapt audience and reflected on where Americans stood in that bicentennial year. "Are we to be one people bound together by a common spirit, sharing in a common endeavor, or will we become a divided nation? For all of its uncertainty, we cannot flee the future." The civil rights movement had changed American politics by opening up elected office to a new generation of Black leaders, including Jordan, the first Black woman from the South to serve in Congress. Though her life in elected politics lasted only twelve years, in that short time, Jordan changed the nation by showing that Black women could lead their party and legislate on behalf of what she called "the common good."In She Changed the Nation, biographer Mary Ellen Curtin offers a new portrait of Jordan and her journey from segregated Houston, Texas, to Washington, DC, where she made her mark during the Watergate crisis by eloquently calling for the impeachment of President Nixon. Recognized as one of the greatest orators of modern America, Jordan inspired millions, and Black women became her most ardent supporters. Many assumed Jordan would rise higher and become a US senator, Speaker of the House, or a Supreme Court justice. But illness and disability, along with the obstacles she faced as a Black woman, led to Jordan's untimely retirement from elected office—though not from public life. Until her death at the age of fifty-nine, Jordan remained engaged with the cause of justice and creating common ground, proving that Black women could lead the country through challenging times.No change in the law alone could guarantee the election of Black leaders. It took courage and ambition for Barbara Jordan to break into politics. This important new biography explores the personal and the political dimensions of Jordan's life, showing how she navigated the extraordinary pressures of office while seeking to use persuasion, governance, and popular politics as instruments of social change and betterment.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Epigraph
• Contents
• Introduction. A Southern Black Woman Democrat
• Chapter 1. Origins of a Voice
• Chapter 2. A Seed Takes Root: The New Black Democrats of Houston
• Chapter 3. A Sure Foundation: Teachers and Role Models
• Chapter 4. The Unknown Road: Pursuit of Independence
• Chapter 5. Can This Marriage Be Saved? The Strains of Coalition Politics
• Chapter 6. Victory! Black Power and Electoral Politics
• Chapter 7. A Seat at the Table: Senator Jordan in Action
• Chapter 8. Collision Course: Jordan Versus Graves
• Chapter 9. A Father’s Death, a Black Woman’s Ambition
• Chapter 10. A Bright Star in a Constellation: Black Feminist in Congress
• Chapter 11. No Idle Spectator: Race and Watergate
• Chapter 12. Race and Democracy: The 1975 Voting Rights Act and Party Politics
• Chapter 13. Hitting the Black Glass Ceiling: The 1976 Democratic Party Convention
• Chapter 14. From Virtue to Power: Last Battles
• Chapter 15. Determined to Be Heard
• Conclusion. She Changed the Nation
• Notes
• Selected Bibliography
• Index
• Acknowledgments