Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Black History Month lgbts of color - Barbara Jordan

As many of you know, February is Black History Month, where we remember and celebrate the contributions that African-Americans have made to this country.

In recent years, it has always bugged me that there doesn't seem to be appropriate attention to the contributions of lgbts of color during this month - that is to say there needs to be attention directed to the fact that some of the people whose lives we celebrate during Black History Month were and are lgbts.

Therefore from time to time during this month (preferably the weekend but today is an exception), I am going to spotlight the lives and contributions of lgbts of color.

And I want to start with Barbara Jordan:

From www.glbtq.com:

Barbara Jordan gained national attention for her intelligence, acumen, and oratorical skill as a member of the United States House of Representatives Judiciary Committee during hearings on the articles of impeachment against Richard Nixon over the Watergate scandal. In her career as a legislator and educator she was a vigorous proponent of equal rights, especially for African Americans and women. A deeply closeted lesbian, she did not, however, speak out for the cause of glbtq rights.

Jordan attended Houston public schools, where she excelled academically. During her senior year her speaking skills were recognized when she won a national oratory contest sponsored by the Baptist church.

Following her graduation in 1952 Jordan enrolled at Houston's all-black Texas Southern University, where she became a stand-out on the extremely successful debate team.

After graduating magna cum laude from Texas Southern in 1956 with a degree in political science and history, Jordan entered law school at Boston University. Throughout her youth Jordan had had first-hand experience of racism, but at Boston she encountered sexism. She recalled that the law school professors "just tolerated" the "ladies." Jordan persevered, however, earning her degree in 1959, after which she returned to Houston to practice law.

As the 1960 presidential election approached, Jordan became a volunteer with John F. Kennedy's campaign. She quickly became engrossed in the effort and moved from doing routine clerical tasks to working on a drive to turn out the city's African-American voters.

Buoyed by the success of the undertaking, Jordan decided to run for office herself. Her campaigns for the state House of Representatives in 1962 and 1964 ended in defeat, but they helped her establish a solid following. She was elected to the state Senate in her third run for office in 1966.

As a senator, Jordan championed the causes of fair housing and employment, minimum wage laws, and protection of the voting rights of minorities. Her political astuteness and effectiveness led her fellow Texan President Lyndon B. Johnson to seek her advice on fair housing legislation. Because of her record of accomplishment Jordan was chosen as the outstanding freshman senator in her first year in the legislature.

After six years of service in the state Senate, Jordan mounted a campaign for the United States House of Representatives in 1972. She won in a landslide. At the recommendation of former President Johnson, she was appointed to the Judiciary Committee.

It was as a member of this committee that Jordan came to nationwide attention during the hearings on the articles of impeachment against Richard Nixon in 1974. Her intelligence and eloquence during the long and difficult proceedings brought her widespread respect and made her a rising political star.

Chosen to deliver a keynote address at the 1976 Democratic National Convention, Jordan gave a typically stirring speech. During the campaign she worked diligently to bring out the vote for Jimmy Carter, who had considered her as a possible running mate. After his election Carter offered Jordan the post of ambassador to the United Nations, which she declined.

Jordan stunned her constituents and colleagues by announcing in late 1977 that she would not run for a fourth term in the House of Representatives. The reason for her decision, which she did not reveal publicly, was that she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

Among the few privy to Jordan's medical condition was Nancy Earl. Jordan and Earl had met on a camping trip in the late 1960s and had quickly become close. In 1976 they bought property near Austin together and built a house.

Shortly after Jordan's announcement that she would not seek reelection, Earl joined her in Washington as a "special assistant" during her final year in office.

Once back in Austin in 1979, Jordan was appointed to the Lyndon Johnson Chair in National Policy at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas. Earl, an educational psychologist, also worked at the university in its testing and evaluation center.

Jordan remained largely out of the public eye for several years, but in 1987 she appeared before Congress to oppose the nomination of conservative homophobe Robert Bork to the United States Supreme Court. She addressed the Democratic National Convention the following year, seconding the vice-presidential nomination of fellow Texan Lloyd Bentsen.

In July 1988 Jordan suffered a heart attack while exercising in her swimming pool. Earl--described in the press as Jordan's "housemate"--saved her by calling for emergency medical assistance and working to revive her. After the incident doctors, describing Jordan's medical condition, revealed that she had multiple sclerosis.

Jordan quickly recovered from the heart attack and resumed a vigorous schedule, determined to overcome her physical challenges. Even after being diagnosed with leukemia in 1994, she continued to teach and travel to speaking engagements. At last, however, she contracted pneumonia as a complication of the leukemia and died on January 17, 1996 in Austin.

Now some people may think that Jordan should not be considered as an lgbt hero because she was closeted and did not speak on behalf on lgbt rights.

I submit that her reluctance to speak out was merely a result of her having to deal with the era in which she lived - just as Bayard Rustin's (another hero who will be celebrated at a later date) arrest on a "morals charge" was the result of how he had to deal with homophobia back then.

Let's not get so high and mighty in our empowerment that we turn our backs on those who made choices based on the options they had in front of them.

For those who are interested, the following is a clip of  the first part of her speech during the Watergate hearings:







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6 comments:

Kevin Andrews said...

Thank you, thank you, thank you. This woman is one of my all time heroes and deserved to be a presidential candidate. Barbara Jordan was, in my humble opinion, the last true Statesman to appear within modern politics. The woman's ethics, integrity and comportment moved me more than I am able to say. She was a gift to my generation that destroyed the stereo type and brought respect through action.
Thank you.
http://activecitizen54.wordpress.com/

Anonymous said...

Hurray for Ms. Jordan!
And you're right that we should talk about black lgbt folks who've made a contribution. Little Richard spings to mind, although I think he's still in the closet as well. But that don't matter. Barb and Richard came from a time when the pressures were greater.
But I don't even fault young people for staying in the closet. I can't know if it is safe for them, or judge what kind of pressures anyone else has to deal with. So I never tell anyone to come out and think people who do are arrogant and egotistical.
http://a-civilife.blogspot.com

BlackTsunami said...

If I may amend that a little bit, anoymous:

encouraging people to come out of the closet isn't a bad thing. But attacking them if they don't without taking into account why they made the choice not to come out AND implying that coming out of the closet suddenly makes your life better as an lgbt are both things I frown upon.

Jarred said...

It sounds like Barbara Jordan was an incredible woman. Thank you for bringing her to my attention.

Like you, I'm not inclined to criticize Ms. Jordan for not coming out or being more outspoken on LGBT rights. I'll also note that this is partly due to the fact that she was already fighting two rather difficult battles. A lot of days, I'm not sure I can handle fighting one such battle, so I'm not going to criticize anyone for choosing not to take on a third.

As an aside, I liked your criticism of those who imply that coming out of the closet magically makes one's life suddenly better. Anyone who has been through the process should know better, and denying it is fool and harmful to those who are still struggling with the decision. It's far better to be encouraging and say "yeah, it hurts like hell at times, but I think the benefits are definitely worth it." Granted, someone may think you're nuts and not listen to that advice. But I'm not sure I can blame them for that, either.

Mary O'Grady said...

Here in Austin, Barbara Jordan remains a great hero. She is one of the reasons I am proud to be an alumna of UT, where she taught at the LBJ School of Public Affairs. (What a thrill it was to see her on campus!)
She was an intensely private person, and I think she was entitled to that.

George said...

Thank you so very much for posting this great reminder of Barbara Jordan and all that she accomplished and represented. I was a child back then during the Nixon Impeachment times, but I do remember learning of Ms Jordan and thinking how accomplished she must be to have become a black woman in the senate. That was still at a time when school desegregation was controversial and problematic (although it had been in effect for over half a decade) and I kept wondering where were the black kids in my school? (I lived in a county with a very small black population at the time). Anyway, I loved being able to hear her speech you linked! Thank You again and I hope lots of people see this and come to know more about her!