[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 24, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H822-H829]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO THE LATE HON. BARBARA JORDAN
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of May
12, 1995, the gentlewoman from Texas [Ms. Jackson-Lee] is recognized
for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, many fear the future, many are
distrustful of their leaders, and believe that their voices are never
heard. Many seek only to satisfy their private work wants and to
satisfy their private interests. But this is the great danger America
faces, that we will cease to be one Nation and become, instead, a
collection of interest groups, city against suburb, region against
region, individual against individual, each seeking to satisfy private
wants.
Mr. Speaker, if that happens, who then will speak for America? Who
then will speak for America? What are those of us who are elected
public officials supposed to do? I will tell you this, we as public
servants must set an example for the rest of the Nation. It is
hypocritical for the public official to admonish and exhort the people
to uphold the common good if we are derelict in upholding the common
good. More is required of public officials than slogans and handshakes
and press releases. More is required. We must hold ourselves strictly
accountable. We must provide the people with a vision of the future.
Mr. Speaker, that was from Barbara Jordan, 1976, at the Democrat
Convention.
Mr. Speaker, last week we lost an American hero. Barbara Jordan died
last week on Wednesday, January 17, 1996, a friend to many, a mentor,
and an icon. The late honorable Congresswoman, Barbara Jordan, who not
only represented the 18th Congressional District of Texas that I am now
privileged to serve, was one of the first two African-Americans from
the South to be elected to this august body since reconstruction. She
was a renaissance woman, eloquent, fearless, and peerless in her
pursuit of justice and equality. She exhorted all of us to strive for
excellence, stand fast for justice and fairness, and yield to no one in
the matter of defending this Constitution and upholding the most sacred
principles of a democratic government. To Barbara Jordan, the
Constitution was a very profound document, one to be upheld.
The lady, Barbara Jordan, the first black woman elected to the Texas
Senate, was born February 21, 1936, the daughter of Benjamin and Arlene
Jordan. The youngest daughter of a Baptist minister, she lived with her
two sisters in the Lyons Avenue area of Houston's Fifth Ward. The
church played an important role in her life. She joined the Good Hope
Baptist Church on August 15, 1953, under the leadership of Rev. A.A.
Lucas, graduating with honors from Houston's Phyllis Wheatley High
School in the Houston Independent School District.
[[Page H823]]
Ms. Jordan went on to Texas Southern University, where she majored in
government and history. While at Texas Southern University, Barbara
Jordan was an active student and a member of the debate team for 4
years, and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. She got her tutelage
under Dr. Thomas Freeman, who gave her the inspiration and certainly
the training to formulate both her words and her tone, and to make her
one of this world's greatest orators.
It was her involvement with the debate team that began for her a
series of firsts that will become the hallmark of her professional
life. Ms. Jordan was a member of the first debate team from a black
university to compete in the forensic tournament held annually at
Baylor College University in Texas. On that occasion, she won first
place in junior oratory, one of many first place trophies in a career
as a debater. We must remember at those times there were not many black
debate teams from across the Nation competing in integrated
tournaments. This was a first. Ms. Jordan was outstanding.
After graduating magna cum laude from Texas Southern University in
1956, she received her law degree from Boston University in 1959. This
Constitution became part of Barbara Jordan's life, and she carried it
everywhere she went. We already knew Barbara Jordan before the 1974
impeachment hearings, but her undaunted courage on that somber occasion
etched her name in our memories forever.
Those of us who have been honored by having the public place its
trust in us know the onerous burden and the weight of passing a vote
destined to alter our history forever. We know what it took for Barbara
Jordan to say ``yea, aye'' when the House Committee on the Judiciary
roll was called on July 30, 1974, and we are still admiring her for it.
That was the day we realized that she was much more than the gilded,
persuasive voice that always held sway when she spoke.
I remember her talking about this momentous day and her participation
in the Watergate hearings. This young woman, newly elected to Congress,
took these responsibilities extremely seriously. She was concerned that
people across the country felt that this Government was being
undermined, that we were in the throes of a potential revolution, that
all would be lost.
Barbara Jordan, concerned about the moment, the history, the impact,
seriously studied all of the Watergate hearings in review, listened
attentively, and indicated to all of us that she viewed this
Constitution as a serious document and would not view it and see it be
diminished. She took this role seriously, and she was concerned that
she speak in measured words and tone, so those who might be looking
would still have faith in the Constitution and in this Government. It
was the honorable Barbara Jordan that calmed the fears of most
Americans, saying that if she was there with her faith in this
Constitution, albeit that she had not been included in this
Constitution as an African-American when it was written, then they knew
that all might be well.
We realize that Barbara Jordan was a tremendous moral force and was
calling upon all of us to account to our conscience as a Nation. Her
untimely death leaves a great void in our national leadership, and she
will be sorely missed as we grapple with the great moral issues of the
day.
Barbara Jordan was a lawyer, legislator, scholar, author, and
presidential adviser. She was immensely gifted, and used every bit of
her talent and skill to address, improve, and dignify the conditions of
human life. In the tradition of Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King,
and Thurgood Marshall, she challenged the Federal Government and the
American people to uphold the principles set forth in the American
Constitution.
Congresswoman Jordan began her public career as a Texas State
Senator. Might I say to you, she was a first then, for there had never
been an African-American in the Texas Senate, and she stood tall and
proud. Her voice, although eloquent and resonating throughout the
halls, was full of passion, and she felt compelled to represent those,
the least of her sisters and brothers, individuals who might never have
gone outside of the realm of their neighborhood, who might not be able
to read or write, did not have a job. She has spoken on behalf of small
businesses. She was very concerned about civil rights, employment
discrimination, equality and justice, even in the Texas Senate. She
served her country with great distinction as a Member of Congress and
chairwoman of the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform. Her
extraordinary impact on our country will be felt for many generations.
She gained national prominence in the 1970's as a member of the House
Committee on the Judiciary during the impeachment hearings of President
Richard Nixon. Again, her eloquent statement regarding her faith in the
Constitution helped the Nation to focus on the principle that all
elected officials, including the President of the United States, must
abide by the mandates of the Constitution.
During her tenure in Congress, Congresswoman Barbara Jordan was a
leader on issues relating to voting rights, consumer protection,
energy, and the environment. Might I add that she was particularly
forceful in including language minorities in the Voting Rights Act of
1965, which then covered Texas, and also allowed for Hispanics and
others to be included so that they would have equal justice under the
law as right, and have full participation in this Nation, and a full
part of this Constitution.
Additionally, Congresswoman Jordan played an active role in the
Democratic Party. She served as a keynote speaker at the 1976 and 1992
Democratic National Conventions, and constantly challenged the
Democratic Party to be a catalyst for progress and make the American
dream a reality for all Americans.
After retiring from Congress, Congresswoman Jordan was appointed a
distinguished professor at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public
Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. This position enabled her
to have a major influence on the next generation of public officials.
She impressed her students with her intellect and ability to inspire
them to achieve excellence in the classroom, and to be committed to
public service.
Mr. Speaker, Barbara Jordan was buried on January 20, 1996. She was
buried at the Texas National Cemetery. She was the first African-
American in the history of the national State cemetery to be buried
there, in her death a first, but making a statement that she was laid
to rest among Texas heroes. They benefited because an American hero was
laid to rest with them.
As I stood on the burial ground and participated in that ceremony, it
was an overwhelming feeling, for it came to me that we lost her too
early. This was reinforced when one of her students came up to me,
stood next to me and said ``I know you.'' And I said ``Yes? And who are
you?'' ``I'm a student. I was taught by the honorable professor Barbara
Jordan.''
I said ``How interesting. You have a great experience to cherish.''
She said, ``Yes, and in her classroom, she talked a lot about you.''
Both of us, touched very much at that time, just stood and embraced,
for this was a woman who was not afraid of sharing herself and others,
and she was not afraid of young people. She loved them. She wanted to
give to them, and in them, she saw the opportunity for love and caring
and the future.
Congresswoman Barbara Jordan leaves the American people, particularly
Members of Congress, a powerful legacy of commitment to freedom,
integrity, government, and belief in human progress. She also leaves
and is survived by her mother, Arlene Jordan, her sisters, Bennie
Jordan Chriswell, Rosemary McGowan, brother-in-law, John Wesley
McGowan, aunt and uncle, Mamie Reed Lee and Wilmer James Lee, close
friends, Nancy Earle, Angie Taylor Morton, Muriel and Lee Dudley,
Evelyn and Walter Harrison, Lonnie and Mary Elizabeth York, Robert and
Norma Jones, Anna, Lois, and Carl T. Taylor, Billy Brown and Betty
Thomas, Patsy Hurd, Jerry Earl, and Willie Calhoun.
I would simply say to you that she leaves throngs of others, hoping
that her words will continue on in our hearts, but most importantly, in
our actions. She stated:
America's mission was, and still is, to take diversity and
mold it into a cohesive and coherent whole that would espouse
virtues and
[[Page H824]]
values essential to the maintenance of civil order. There is nothing
easy about that mission, but it is not Mission Impossible.
The Honorable Barbara Jordan. Nothing was too hard for her to accept
as a challenge, and nothing was too hard for her to overcome; a great
American. We lost her, but not her words and her message.
I am delighted today to be joined by the gentlewoman from North
Carolina, the Honorable Eva Clayton, who has come from the great State
of North Carolina, in fact knows of the great works of the Honorable
Barbara Jordan, and is likewise an African-American woman serving in
the U.S. Congress.
I yield to the gentlewoman from North Carolina.
Mrs. CLAYTON. I want to thank the gentlewoman from Texas for
arranging this special order, Mr. Speaker, and allowing us to
participate in it, and to give honor to it.
Mr. Speaker, when I speak of freedom, fairness, justice, and
equality--words that compose the very foundation of this democracy--I
often quote Barbara Jordan.
Barbara Jordan was more than a leading figure, a great stateswoman,
and an oratorical genius. She was the essence of leadership, the
epitome of statesmanship, and the embodiment of oratory.
She believed in America, and the principles underlying the creation
of this Nation. More importantly, she was not afraid to fight for those
principles and to stand up for her beliefs. Perhaps a speech she
delivered in 1974, best captured her firmness and her fight. In
discussing the meaning of the Constitution, she stated, ``We, the
people.'' ``It is a very eloquent beginning.'' ``But when that document
was completed on the 17th of September, in 1787, I was not included in
that `We the people.' ''
Barbara Jordan continued, ``I felt somehow for many years that George
Washington and Alexander Hamilton, just left me out by mistake. But
through the process of amendment, interpretation, and court decision, I
have finally been included in, `We the people.' ''
All of us can imagine the penetrating way she said those words. With
a distinctive style, a commanding voice, in clear, crisp language--
there was only one Barbara Jordan. When she spoke--we listened--the
world listened.
And, few interpreted the meaning of the Constitution like Barbara
Jordan.
It is for that reason that we acknowledge the deep and wide abyss
that has been left by a death, too soon, at age 50, on January 17.
Her career of public service began in service.
Never reluctant to do her part, in 1960, she addressed envelopes for
the Kennedy campaign.
Her special talents, however, were soon recognized, and she was
elected as the first black woman in the Texas State Legislature, and
the first black woman elected to Congress from the South.
In many ways, Mr. Speaker, she paved the way for me and for other
African-American women. It is also, in many ways, ironic that Barbara
Jordan's political interest was first sparked by reflection on the
deeds of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Today's Republican Party
often discusses its efforts in terms of revolution and makes
comparisons and contrasts with the New Deal days of Roosevelt. It is
ironic because, it is said that, Barbara Jordan's grandfather never
began a meal without thanking God, ``for FDR and the Home Finance
Administration, which made this house possible.''
Perhaps that early lesson gave her the clear vision that, indeed,
government has a role in our lives. She left Congress in 1978, to
assume a teaching position at the University of Texas--of course, she
was teaching all along. We shall never forget the stirring keynote
addresses she gave at Democratic Conventions 16 years apart, in 1976,
and again in 1992. What was remarkable was that neither time, nor
space, nor distance had tarnished her devotion to America's
fundamentals. ``Won 'em both,'' she said.
The Watergate hearings may have thrust Barbara Jordan across the
national landscape. But, it was an unwavering spirit, a daring
dedication and an unmatched commitment to this Nation that made Barbara
Jordan who she was. It is because Barbara Jordan believed that there is
a place for all in America--young and old; black and white; male and
female; rich and poor. And, it is because Barbara Jordan has died that
each of us must never stop insisting upon that place. That is our
challenge.
The Statue of Liberty was closed during the Government shutdowns--an
inauspicious symbol of today's America. But, to the end, Barbara Jordan
stood fighting for fundamentals. As chair of the U.S. Commission on
Immigration Reform, her most recent public service post, she stated,
``It was immigration that taught us, it does not matter where you came
from, or who your parents were. What counts is who you are.'' I shall
continue to quote Barbara Jordan.
The pearls of wisdom she shared with us in life, live on through
death. Freedom, fairness, justice, and equality--We are far closer,
today, than ever before, to those words which, too often, are mere
platitudes. And, we will continue to be closer, because the spirit of
Barbara Jordan lives.
{time} 1815
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from
North Carolina. I applaud and agree with her words that only because of
her words and actions are we closer to freedom.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to my good friend, the gentleman from
Colorado [Mr. McInnis].
Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to commend the
gentlewoman from Texas, as well as her colleagues. I think if Barbara
Jordan were here, she would be proud of the words spoken on her behalf
by all of my colleagues, and I commend that.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, it gives
me great honor to be able to yield time to the Honorable Louis Stokes,
who I know that the Congresswoman enjoyed many good years of service
with. I know of his commitment, but also his friendship, and I know how
much the family appreciates him being here today to honor the Honorable
Barbara Jordan, the senior member of the Committee on Appropriations,
the Honorable Louis Stokes.
Mr. STOKES, Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding to me.
I want to express our appreciation on behalf of all of us for her
taking out this special order this evening so that all of us might pay
tribute to this very great American lady.
Mr. Speaker, we gather tonight to pay tribute to the late Barbara
Jordan, an extraordinary individual and former Member of the House. On
January 17, 1996, the Nation mourned the passing of this political
giant and gifted orator. During her lifetime, she served this Nation
with honor and dignity. We join family members, friends and others
throughout the Nation in sorrow at her passing. Barbara Jordan was a
remarkable American who will never be forgotten.
Some of us who are gathered here today are fortunate to have served
in Congress with this great lady. And, as I stand here today, I have
many fond special memories of my personal friendship with her in this
Chamber. She frequently served in the capacity of speaker, pro tempore
during that period. Whenever she was in the Chair, the Manner in which
she presided over the entire House was a beauty to behold. Her dignity
and elegance was in full bloom at those times.
Those of us who served with Barbara Jordan came to love, admire and
respect her greatly. Not only was she a knowledgeable legislator, but
she was also someone who was sincere and compassionate. Whatever she
did or said, she did or said with fervor. She also had a great sense of
time. She respected the time of others, and she demanded that you
respect her time.
Barbara Jordan set a standard of excellence and integrity which will
remain as a legacy forever. She was a tireless advocate for those who
had no voice in the congressional deliberations. She was also a
champion of justice and a staunch defender of the Constitution.
A graduate of Boston University Law School, Barbara Jordan was one of
American politics' pioneer black women. She began her political rise in
1966, when she was to the Texas State Senate, becoming the first
African-American elected to that legislative body.
[[Page H825]]
In 1972, Barbara Jordan again made history when she and Andy Young
became the first African-Americans from the South to be elected to
Congress since reconstruction. Congress found in Barbara Jordan, a
lawmaker of the highest caliber and integrity.
Mr. Speaker, we recall the eloquence of Barbara Jordan in 1974, as
Congress debated the possible impeachment of the President of the
United States. During the Judiciary Committee deliberations, she
stirred the national conscience when she declared, ``My faith in the
Constitution is whole, it is complete, it is total, and I am not going
to sit here and be an idle spectator to the diminution, the subversion,
and the destruction of the Constitution.''
Barbara Jordan was also held in high esteem by the leaders in the
White House. On two occasions, in 1976, and again in 1992, she was
selected to deliver keynote speeches at party conventions. And, in
1994, we applauded as Barbara Jordan received the Nation's highest
honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, from President Clinton. It
represented a fitting tribute to a distinguished American.
Mr. Speaker, Barbara Jordan was a giant in the legal profession and
one of America's greatest constitutional authorities. Her eloquent
voice, impeccable integrity, and legal scholarship, elevated her to the
top of the legal and political profession. She will be greatly missed.
I and others in this Chamber bid her fair farewell with gratitude for
the opportunity to have known her during her distinguished lifetime. I
thank the gentlewoman for yielding to me.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. I thank the honorable Congressperson Lou
Stokes, for his eloquence and his recognition that this Congresswoman,
Barbara Jordan, was good at her work. She was a good legislator. She
was a legal scholar, and she took her work very seriously. In so doing,
she made us proud and she upheld the Constitution. I thank my colleague
for sharing with us and, of course, for being her friend.
It gives me great pleasure now to yield to her colleague who served
with her in that momentous time as a member of the House Committee on
the Judiciary in 1974. He remains a stellar Member of this body. He is,
in fact, a senior member of Ways and Means, and I personally could see
the anguish in his face as we funeralized this great lady. I welcome to
the well the gentleman from New York [Mr. Rangel].
Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, let me first thank the gentlewoman for
taking the time out to give us a chance to pay honor to this great
lady, a lady indeed of America and the world. My colleagues may not
have known Mo Udall, but Mo was a beloved Member of this House, and
before he left, once in the middle of the night, when the House was
crowded and everyone wanted to go home, Mo came to the well of this
House of Representatives and said, all that has to be said about this
bill has already been said. And the House just burst out with deep
appreciation. But then he added, but not everyone has said it.
I think when we talk about a great person and personality like
Barbara Jordan, that once again we find ourselves in the position that
most things have already been said. So I thought what could I add, and
then that made me think more about Barbara. We sat together on that
Committee on the Judiciary, as the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Stokes]
pointed out, side by side for the many weeks and months to determine
and to deliberate whether or not the acts of the President of the
United States, then President Nixon, had warranted us on the Committee
on the Judiciary in voting for articles of impeachment, which, as
everyone knows, means that it amounted to an indictment and a trial
would later be had in the Senate.
Barbara was always more than adequately prepared to hear the
testimony, to ask the appropriate question, and you would think that
she was chief counsel of the committee if it was dependent on the
quality of her preparation. But while some of us, especially those of
us who have been former prosecutors, were framing the question in terms
of trying to get the answers that we were probing for, I noticed that
most of her questions were not to determine whether or not President
Nixon had committed any wrongdoing, but whether or not the Members of
the House were prepared to distort that Constitution in order to
achieve a political goal, as some may think is going on now in the
Senate.
{time} 1830
Some have said that Barbara was not one to take fools lightly. And
sitting next to her, I certainly did not intend to joke with her about
the serious task that she had taken on. But as we had seen so many
people tear apart the law as we would know it, she was there to defend
the system to make certain it would be there for someone who needed the
protection and the cloak of innocence of our Constitution.
But most of the time that I raised these questions to her, she would
dismiss me, having already made up her mind, by saying, ``There you go,
Charles, up to mischief again.''
And so why would I be any different tonight when I loved Barbara then
and love her now and miss her now? And if there was anything that I
would want her to say to me, it would be, ``There you go again,
Charles,'' with a smile on her face, ``up to mischief again.''
And I would be up to mischief tonight to say that this gracious lady
will always be remembered in this country as a great American, as she
should be.
She also will be remembered as one who wore the flag and the
Constitution so close to her heart as if to say that she will take the
stones and the arrows, but do not touch her precious Constitution. And
as oft cited, reported, she would say that even those that knew that
people like she were treated as chattel and property when the
Constitution was written, she would dismiss it and say, it was a
mistake and she is there to correct it.
But, Congresswoman Lee, the thing has to remain now that she is gone
and invested her time, her energy, her eloquence in protecting that
Constitution, will the United States of America and those who loved and
cherished her allow that Constitution to be broad enough now to give
the protection for the people that she loved the most, the people from
the poverty-stricken rural areas where she came from that cannot rise
to her height in physical, intellectual, or oracle skills?
Would those that pay tribute to her be prepared to say that she never
accused them of racism, she never wore her sex or her race on her
sleeve. She said, this country was rich enough, broad enough, cared
enough that she did not have to say those things, it would work its way
out.
At the funeral, so many said that Barbara is not gone, that she lives
with us, and this means what she stood for lives with us.
If that is so, why does this Chamber look more like a Congressional
Black Caucus meeting than a lady who concerned herself about the
Congress only because it was part of the Constitution? When the
President of the United States and the leader of the free world goes to
Texas to pay tribute, is that not a sign that everybody, especially
those in Texas, white or black, Mexican or nutmeg Jew, Gentile,
Catholic, Protestant, should be there, because Barbara was not making
mischief, she was making history to say that you do not have to make
mischief to achieve? And she proved that it could be done, and she did
in fact do it.
I do hope that when Barbara is remembered, that she is not thrown
into the category of mischiefmakers, because they have a way of saying
you pushed a little too hard, you were not sensitive to our political
problems, or that sooner or later you would get all of the things that
you are entitled to under the Constitution, because Barbara did not
take issue with that. She knew it would work out.
I say in tribute to Barbara Jordan, this great American, why can
everyone who loved her not take a page out of that book, and whether
they come from Texas, they are a politician, a Member of Congress,
whether they are black, whether they are a woman, remember that she
gave everything she had to protect that parchment, and she did not just
protect it for those people who look like her. She was protecting it
for everybody in this country, even former President Richard Nixon.
If she could care that much to give up political objectives in order
to protect this paper, why can every American who expects that paper to
be there for them and their grandchildren not
[[Page H826]]
do a little something that Barbara would want them to do? Be less
political, less partisan, less mean-spirited, and be more American, be
more caring, be more what the forefathers wanted, and, that is, to work
together, to live together, to make this a better country, more
productive, and spend our energy and time in getting rid of poverty and
disease instead of building up hatred and causing confrontations.
I tell the Congresswoman, in my humble opinion, she liked people to
make mischief, but she did not believe that everyone had to do it the
same way.
So why do we not pay tribute to her and do it Barbara's way, and,
that is, to make certain that no matter where we come from, if we find
someone that looks like Barbara, that may not be able to walk like
Barbara, that may not be able to speak like Barbara, may not be able to
command the presence that Barbara had for all of us, to remember she,
too, he, too, they deserve the protection of this great document that
she died with, held closely to her bosom.
That is the tribute that I think that you pay to an American. And
that is the tribute that we should have all over America, not just in
Houston, not just in Austin, not just here, not just with the
Congressional Black Caucus, not just with the President of the United
States but with every child in every valley regardless of complexion or
religion to say, what a great person and how wonderful it was that
America had such a wonderful defender.
I thank the gentlewoman from Texas.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. I thank the gentleman. If he would just for
a moment, you have raised a very solemn challenge. And for fear of
anyone perceiving politics being involved, let me add that Barbara
would always tell us in Texas that she did not fear being called a
politician. She just wanted to be a good politician. And because we are
where we are today, am I understanding the gentleman from New York to
suggest that we in this great body today, in this era, in 1996, in the
midst of our own discussions, might take a page from the life of this
legacy, this American hero, about bringing interests together, diverse
interests, about working for the common good, about the understanding
that the Constitution and the whole American people are more important
than the singular?
Am I understanding the gentleman almost instructing through her life
that we might take that page, or 10 pages, out of that book and maybe
in weeks and months to come, we would see our way clear to follow a
cohesive pattern to work for all of America?
Mr. RANGEL. Dear gentlewoman, you have well described our Barbara
Jordan and in doing so you described our Constitution and our great
Republic.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. I thank the gentleman.
Let me also appreciate my colleague and certainly in her own right a
fighter, an advocate for equal rights and equal justice, a legal
scholar herself and now the honorable Delegate from the District of
Columbia. But as we all applaud and believe, equal under the law, and
we are advocating that for her constituents and we applaud her work on
their behalf, and she has come now to honor Barbara Jordan, the
Honorable Eleanor Holmes Norton of the District of Columbia.
Ms. NORTON. I thank the gentlewoman from Texas for her kind remarks,
and I thank her even more for her leadership in taking out this special
order.
May I say to the gentlewoman that I think that Members of this body
would agree with me that even as a freshman, she is proving herself a
worthy successor of Barbara Jordan.
Barbara Jordan was a great American. I intend for my few minutes to
be devoted to proving that proposition.
Her presence was so awesome that she is likely to be remembered more
for her voice and her style than for her substance. That would be just
too bad.
For in this world it is not how you say what you have to say, it is
indeed what you have to say. And if you have nothing to say, the most
resonant voice should do you no good.
Why is it that when Barbara Jordan spoke, everybody listened? Was it
really a matter of style? I submit that it was a matter of substance.
To be sure, amplified by a very original and very forceful style. But I
hope that we listened to what Barbara Jordan had to say, for here was a
woman who had something to say.
We are inclined to look at our leaders in surface ways, especially in
the age of television and demonstrations. I think of King and Malcolm.
King is remembered today, for example, as the militant leader for
equality and God knows he was that and perhaps that first and foremost.
But if we look deeper into his life, there are parts of his life that
have fallen back, because we look at the surface, we remember the
obvious. We do not remember King the intellectual, King the advocate of
racial harmony, King the pacifist, King the man who was extremely
modest and self-effacing. We remember the marches, we remember the
speeches. It is important to remember a person's whole life.
I want us to remember Barbara Jordan's whole life, not just her
presence.
In the same way, I chuckle at the way people remember Malcolm X.
Because I think most Americans remember Malcolm X as a militant black
nationalist. I believe Malcolm would want you to remember him as he was
at the end of his life, when he had renounced black racism along with
white racism, when he had renounced anti-Semitism, and frankly almost
all of his prior life, when he went to Mecca and came back and said,
``I believe in the brotherhood''--and sisterhood, I think he would have
had it. What I find awesome about Malcolm is his capacity to grow and
change and learn and lead even if it meant his life.
Similarly, Barbara Jordan was not some bold, big-talking black woman
who brought us a message of equality. She was that and she was so much
more than that.
her Watergate remarks are, of course, most remembered, the famous
lines ``We the people,'' ``My faith in the Constitution is whole, it is
complete, it is total.'' Those are not lines often spoken by many
African-Americans.
And she spoke them not just because she believed she lived in a
perfect democracy. She believed just the opposite. In that very speech,
she began by saying, words to the effect, ``I guess we can say We The
People because now they have included me in We The People. They
certainly didn't mean me when we started out.''
Then she said, ``By virtue of amendment, I too am now part of We The
People.'' And in effect what she was saying was it took this
Constitution a long time to get around to including me in We The
People, I feel a special obligation to protect the Constitution, and I
am not about to let it be subverted by the actions of even a President
of the United States like Richard Nixon.
{time} 1845
Her faith in the Constitution was total, because she had seen the
evolution to include people like herself, and thus she believed that
the country would reach its highest ideals and devoted much of her life
talking in that idealistic fashion.
Of course, Barbara Jordan was an advocate for the downtrodden in the
tradition of the Congressional Black Caucus. The gentleman from New
York will be the first to tell you, she was there on all of those
principles. But, as he said, people go at it in different ways, and she
had her own special way.
What I will most remember about Barbara Jordan is fearless
leadership. This sense of integrity made her rise above the political
moment and made her whatever the political lashes on the shores might
have been, made her true to whatever were her principles.
Here is a woman that deeply believed in equality across all racial
lines and believed she ought to speak to her own people who were black
and beyond.
Now, many African-Americans do not believe they should speak beyond,
because it is very hard for them to get beyond. Life has been very
difficult. So then, perhaps even more now, people speak out of their
own experience and do not speak to the larger American experience.
Here is a woman that knew she had the capacity to do it, and felt it
her obligation to do it. This capacity to lead is very important,
because it means you can say difficult things. People will listen to
you and they will be accepted.
About the easiest thing for me to say in my district, and I think it
would probably be the case in the district of the gentlewoman from
Texas now and
[[Page H827]]
then, would be to talk about equality and to talk about the things
that, frankly, I love to talk about. I love to talk about how black is
beautiful and I love to talk about black pride. But there are more
difficult things to talk about then and now which really relate to the
lines that are being drawn so that we increasingly live in isolated
worlds.
Look, we can do that. We can do that. But if we do that enough, we
are courting danger.
When I looked at her words, I see a constant theme running through
everything she said and everything she wrote. It was that here is this
black woman, over and over again she said we are all one people. Do not
succumb to balkanization and polarization. It is the worst, not the
best in America. We have helped America find their way out of this. Do
not do it.
She was speaking against the grain of the time, and she continued to
speak to that theme to the end of her life. On National Public Radio I
heard her words most recently spoken in which she said she was
astonished at racial separation, segregation, polarization. Much of it
she said was self-imposed. Here was Barbara Jordan speaking at the end
of her life in ways that almost no black Americans are speaking today.
I pulled out her remarks from the Democratic Convention in 1992, and
let me read a few sentences. Here is Barbara Jordan. Here is how she
will be remembered by her country.
We are one. We are Americans, and we reject any intruder
who seeks to divide us by race or class. We honor cultural
identity. However, separatism is not allowed. Separatism is
not the American way, and we should not permit ideas like
political correctness to become some fad that could reverse
our hard won achievements in civil rights and human rights.
The fact is Barbara Jordan had the moral authority to say that,
without appearing to be any less committed to equality and to the
beauty of blackness. She had the capacity to be a teacher, and she
insisted upon teaching, she insisted upon leading, she would not simply
go with the crowd. That is the kind of leadership we need today in a
country where we see less and less of the sense of community, more and
more of the sense of I have got mine, you ought to get out there and
get yours, less and less of a sense that we are all one big insurance
policy. An insurance policy is a vehicle where we are all in it and
some of us need it sometimes and some of us never need it. If we are
not that kind of community, if we are not that kind of federation, then
we are not living in the tradition of Barbara Jordan.
Yes, I feel a special debt to Barbara Jordan as an American black
woman in political life. But her debtors are far greater. She was a
political pioneer who never stopped changing our country for the
better. She was never cynical about her country, and she inspired those
who were to reach above the low point of Watergate that they could
indeed reach to the ideals that her country had yet to reach.
Her remarks at the Watergate hearings, by far her most memorable,
will, I think, be remembered by history precisely because of the
skillful blend of criticism and idealism. They were both in that
speech.
Barbara Jordan was both a pioneer and a political mentor to thousands
of women. She encouraged by example to engage in politics at every
level. Through her commanding presence, she taught women, especially
black women, that they could take charge. Active until the end of her
productive and fruitful life, Barbara Jordan never stopped leading. She
never stopped serving. We will not stop remembering.
I thank the gentlewoman.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. I thank the gentlewoman from the District
of Columbia. Might I just say something, as I indicated to the
gentleman from New York: You taught, as many of us are aware. The last
years of the congresswoman's life was spent as a professor. Many asked
me many times as I traveled around the country, ``How is Barbara? Where
is she?''
She was fine. She was absolutely enjoying what she was doing, which
was being able to create in reality for students, young people, what
the Constitution meant. Many of her friends remember her fondly as
B.J., and some of the students, more brave than others, called her that
as well.
But you are so right about what she meant to us, how she stood. In
her first congressional campaign she said ``Many blacks are militant in
their guts, but they act it out in different ways.'' She was that kind
of person. I will not say woman or African-American.
She clearly frustrated a lot of the groups, women, minorities,
African-Americans, liberals. And I remember that voice saying, ``I do
not want to be a symbol for anything.'' Harsh? I think not. It was
simply what the gentlewoman said. She had a view of this country, and
if there was something right to do, B.J. would be there doing it
rightly under the Constitution.
I think we can be so gratified that that kind of person lived, and in
fact that she was true to her values to the very end.
I see the gentleman from Connecticut, and I would be happy to yield a
moment to my friend from Connecticut, Mr. Shays.
Mr. SHAYS. It would be just a moment. I found myself walking through
this Chamber and being captivated by your discussion of an
extraordinarily great woman. I have found the most patriotic people in
our black churches, and it always amazed me how the African-American
community could be so patriotic, given the heritage that brought them
to this magnificent country. And Barbara Jordan gave me more pride in
our country than I think almost anyone else.
You talk about what an extraordinary leader. I consider her an
extraordinary teacher. I remember her in my early days, watching her as
a new Member, and I was astounded by this woman.
Now, I know the gentlewoman from Texas is from Texas, but people from
Texas are different than anywhere else. Finding this black Texan
talking, I was not first sure if she was a Texan first, or someone
speaking for the black community first, or just someone speaking as a
true American.
I resolved my question mark. She was just a true American patriot who
wanted to teach this American community a lot, and in the process she
taught herself a lot. We learned so much from seeing her life. Her
death is a tremendous loss.
I just would conclude by saying to you, sometimes people say who
would you have most liked to meet? Who would you most like to sit down
with and just have a wonderful conversation?
They are not actors, and I thought they are really not politicians. I
remember a few people I would have liked to have had a discussion with.
And when I learned that Barbara Jordan had passed away, I thought that
was the woman, that was the person, I should have answered, because,
boy, I would have loved to have sat down with her, like many of you
have for many discussions, and just had that precious opportunity to
talk with a great, great, great American.
I thank you for letting me participate in this. I have been
listening, and I have been captivated by what you all have been saying.
Charlie, you always get me. So thank you for letting me participate and
express my tremendous admiration for this great American.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. You are very kind for your words. Clearly,
you might have been asking me the question of what was the intonation
or the accent that the Congresswoman seemed to exhibit.
I will tell you she was most proud of the fact that she debated the
Harvard debate team and brought them to a draw. I think maybe she might
have brought a bit of that tone from Boston University, but she was
most proud she put Harvard in a draw, and she said ``That is a win.''
Maybe that is when she adopted that intonation from the New England
States.
Clearly she was a person who had a sense of humor. She had a deep
belly laugh, as many said at the memorial service at Texas Southern
University on Sunday. She clearly had a purpose. I am glad to hear you
offer your admiration for her.
I will add one point, as I bring the chairman of the Black Caucus to
also commemorate and honor her, she said something quite humorous. We
were in the midst, Congressman Rangel, of waiting on the Supreme
Court's determination about these redistricts or districting. One of
those seats happens to
[[Page H828]]
be one that the Senator Barbara Jordan drew. It is the 18th
Congressional District. She was proud to say that she knew the law and
she drew it within the law; and she drew it not to exclude, but to
include.
I would think if we just carried that message forward, we would
settle all these lawsuits, because no one could deny anyone being
included. She did it with the aplomb and the humor, but as well the
points that you have offered as points of admiration.
So I think she is a national hero for all of us, no matter what walk
of life we came from, no matter if we were in the suburbs or urban
centers. She also deflected anyone saying she was from a black ghetto.
She said, ``When we grew up, we did not know we were poor and we didn't
act like it.'' That is a challenge for our young people today in this
country.
So I appreciate you being here.
Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Barbara Jordan,
our distinguished colleague who recently passed. I had the privilege to
serve with her in this body, and on the Judiciary and Government
Operations Committees. The 6 years we served together gave me the
fortunate opportunity to work with a true leader. I also want to thank
the distinguished gentlewoman from Texas, Ms. Sheila Jackson-Lee, for
calling this important special order.
Barbara Jordan was one of the few Members of Congress whose influence
was felt from the moment she arrived. Her powerful intellect and her
logical approach to the legislative process made her formidable
throughout her career. It is easy for me to remember that she
influenced my decisions more frequently than I hers. I know many of my
colleagues here tonight would agree with that statement.
In addition to her incredible gift of oratory, she carefully reasoned
her way through the end to what Government policy might best be for our
country. Barbara dedicated her career to fighting for those who
couldn't fight for themselves. As the first African-American woman
elected from the South in the 20th century, she worked hard to continue
the Federal protection of civil rights. She worked to improve the
Voting Rights Act of 1965 by extending its merits to Hispanic-
Americans, native Americans, and Asian-Americans. She was also the
author of the Consumer Goods Pricing Act of 1975.
Many will remember Barbara Jordan from her role in the Watergate
hearings. Barbara's remarkable oratory, her passion for the
Constitution and public service, and her commitment to the democratic
processes helped guide the Nation during some of our most troubling and
soul-searching days. She was a critical figure at a pivotal time for
our Nation and for the House. She helped us see the way through a
turbulent time.
We cannot forget that Barbara Jordan was the first African-American
and the first woman to serve as a keynote speaker at a Democratic
National Convention when she spoke in 1976. She served as a keynote
speaker again in New York at the 1992 Democratic Convention. Her words
helped remind us, both times, why we were Democrats and what we needed
to do to fulfill our commitment to working Americans.
I will never forget Barbara Jordan. She did everything with unlimited
passion and commitment and was one of the most thoughtful Members of
Congress I have ever worked with. She touched the lives of thousands of
Americans, and was a wonderful source of strength to everyone that met
her.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to my dear departed
friend and former colleague, the Honorable Barbara Jordan.
Barbara will be remembered as a vibrant, dynamic force for good who
touched our lives in a special way. Her sense of common decency and
search for simple justice was heard everywhere she went and felt by the
millions she met. Her overpowering self consumed our minds, our inner
thoughts, and our consciences, and indeed inspired us onward and
upward.
Many who did not know Barbara, as some of us in Congress, will say
that the world will never be the same without her. But I must admonish
them that the world is not the same because of Barbara. She truly was a
person who did make a difference.
The Congressional Black Caucus honored Barbara Jordan for her devoted
service in 1978. I had the privilege of paying tribute to her at the
CBC Eighth Annual Awards Dinner. In my salute, I said:
Tonight the Congressional Black Caucus presents its Special
Awards to two outstanding members of our organization. My
privilege, indeed my honor, is to acknowledge the
contributions of one of them, Barbara Jordan. Barbara Jordan
has been to the Congressional Black Caucus what Hubert
Humphrey was to the Democratic Farmer's Labor Party in
Minnesota, what Susan B. Anthony was to the suffrage
movement, what Jackie Robinson was to baseball, what
Sojourner Truth was to early freedom fighters. She has been
our guiding light, our trailblazer.
Barbara is what the E.F. Hutton commercial says--when she
speaks, people listen. They listen not only in the halls of
Congress and the inner sanctums of the Oval Office, but also
in the towns and hamlets of America. They listen in the
cities and the urban areas. They listen in the corporate
board rooms and the living rooms. But even more important,
they listen in the school rooms and the pool rooms. And what
they hear is a beautiful black woman with pathos and passion,
brilliantly articulating the omens of ill-fated clouds which
hang so ominously over Western culture. They hear a voice so
powerful, so awesome, so imposing that it cannot not be
ignored and will never be silenced. What they hear is a voice
verbalizing the hopes, frustrations, aspirations of millions
who have no way themselves to effectively communicate with
those who dictate the social, political and economic order.
Barbara Jordan is Barbara Jordan because she refused to let
modesty prevail over truth, because she has refused to accept
this nation as it is, because she has demanded it become what
it ought to be.
In the words of Marvin Gaye, Barbara is devoted to an idea
of ``saving the children and saving a world destined to
die.'' In the words of Gladys Knight, Barbara is the ``best
thing that ever happened'' to the Black Caucus. In the words
of the Commodores, Barbara is ``once, twice, three times a
lady.''
Tonight, we, the members of the CBC, proudly recognize a
person who carved a niche in the hearts of the American
public by her probing, penetrating questions during the
impeachment hearings, a person who lifted the hearts of those
Americans with her sterling oratory at the Democratic
National Convention. Tonight, we pay homage to the drum
majorette of justice and equality, the Black Rose of Texas,
Barbara Jordan.
A young girl lying on her death bed wrote a testimonial to her
mother. She said, ``Try as we may, we cannot number our days. The best
that we all can do as children of God is do our part to fill our days
with things that count.'' Barbara, in that short interval between birth
and death, filled those days with things that counted.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I am honored now to be able to
yield to the distinguished gentleman from New Jersey, someone who in
his own political career certainly has exuded the principles of the
late Barbara Jordan, and that is the chairperson of the Black Caucus,
Donald Payne.
Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Let me
commend the gentlewoman from Texas for bringing this special order
tonight, and also to say that your leadership here in your year in the
House is, I think, something in the tradition of Barbara Jordan. I know
those are big shoes to fill, but you have brought a great deal of
dignity and self-respect, a great deal of knowledge into our House, and
you should be commended for that.
Mr. Speaker, as chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, I am very
pleased to participate in this special order, to join in this tribute
to a very extraordinary American, whose service here in the U.S. House
of Representatives earned her a national reputation, the Honorable
Barbara Jordan.
{time} 1900
A graduate of Boston University's school of law, Ms. Jordan served as
administrative assistant to Harris County Judge Bill Elliot in the
early 1960's. In 1966, she made history through her election as the
first African-American since 1883 to serve in the Texas Senate and did
an outstanding, credible job there. After winning reelection to that
office, she achieved another historical first for the State of Texas in
1972, when she captured the seat to serve in the 18th District of Texas
in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Although she was a newcomer, a freshman, a Member of the House of
Representatives during the tumultuous 93d Congress when the Watergate
scandal unfolded, as you heard earlier, she gained national reputation
and respect through her eloquent performance during the House Committee
on the Judiciary impeachment hearings, which was chaired by my
predecessor, Peter Rodino.
Peter Rodino used to talk many hours about the Watergate
investigation, but any time he would lecture about Watergate. He is
currently a professor at the Seton Hall School of Justice, the law
school in Newark that is named after him, the Peter Rodino School of
Social Justice.
He would talk about Barbara Jordan and her interpretation of the
Constitution, her eloquence, the way when she spoke everyone listened,
and I felt that
[[Page H829]]
I knew Barbara personally because of Congressman Rodino and his
experience there with her.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I know that my time is ending,
and I am interested in the gentleman having the opportunity to conclude
his remarks, and I would ask the gentleman from Pennsylvania, Mr.
Weldon, my dear friend, as his hour begins, might he yield a few
minutes for Chairman Payne to conclude and for me to conclude with one
or two sentences?
____________________