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Barbara Jordan: African American Politician (Journey to Freedom: The African American Library)

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On July 25, 1974, Congressman Barbara Jordan of Texas explained the Constitution to the American public during the House Judiciary Hearings preparing articles of impeachment against President Nixon. Almost two years later, on July 12, 2976, Jordan gave an electrifying Keynote Address at the Democratic Convention that nominated Jimmy Carter that had some delegates wanting to draft her to be the Vice-Presidential candidate. In both speeches Jordan made use of her ethos, as an African-American woman, to great effect. "Barbara Jordan: African American Politician" tells the remarkable story about how this virtually unknown woman became the voice of America's conscience during Watergate.

Joseph D. McNair uses an usual approach to tell Jordan's story, creating the framing device of Mwalimu, a Nigerian story teller telling children "a story of an African American woman who stood up to defend the U.S. Constitution--a black woman who stood up to the most powerful man in the world." Consequently, the book begins with the event that made Jordan famous and then goes back to her birth, when her father fretted that her skin was too dark. A successful debater in both high school and college, Jordan turned to politics where she began the first female African American state senator in Texas history, became friends with Lyndon Johnson, and eventually was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. It is difficult to find many members of Congress who had as big an impact on the American psyche as Barbara Jordan did in only three terms. McNair's biography provides a comprehensive look at Jordan's life and public career in this volume from the "Journey to Freedom," which is an excellent source of information about the achievements and contributions of noted Africa-Americans.