In Observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday

This article is from one of Jordan's personal scrapbooks.

On this date...

Article from the Houston
Informer, January 7, 1978

On December 10, 1977, Barbara Jordan gave a press conference in Washington to announce her intention to not seek reelection after her third term.  The announcement came as a surprise to many, especially since Jordan had been extremely visible in the political arena since 1973, and particularly after her spectacular and historic appearance at the Democratic National Convention the year before.

Following her announcement, Jordan didn't say much to the press, which was typical of her private and professional nature.  On January 6, 1978, however, she gave a lengthy statement to Time magazine about a month later about her decision (which she dictated over the phone from Houston to one of her Congressional aides in Washington).  Jordan had some interesting things to say about term limits for politicians, which still resonate in today's political climate.  Jordan's statement to Time appears below in its entirety.

On This Date in 1977...

Page from Jordan's
clippings scrapbook,
January-December 1977

On December 10, 1977, Congresswoman Barbara Jordan made the decision to leave office after three terms in the House of Representatives (1973-1978).  The decision was surprising to some, probably because it happened so quickly and with little fanfare leading up to her decision.  There has been much speculation over the reasons behind Jordan's decision to move on to other things:  her health, disillusionment with the slow-moving processes to get things done in Congress, Carter's failure to nominate her to a cabinet position after his election, etc.  There may be a grain of truth (or not) in some of the theories.  Whatever Jordan's reasons, true to form, when her mind was made up, that was it.  The end came quickly, Jordan finished her last term at the end of 1978 and moved on to teach at UT-Austin in the LBJ School of Public Affairs for the next 17 years.

Here are some items from Jordan's papers that document the end of her Congressional career.

Handwritten draft of
Jordan's resignation
press release, 1977

Letter to the General Services manager
advising him of Jordan's upcoming
press conference, December 9, 1977

Page from Jordan's clippings
scrapbook, January-December 1977

Jordan's press release, page 1,
December 10, 1977

Jordan's press release, page 2,
December 10, 1977

Page from Jordan's clippings scrapbook.  Article from
Houston Chronicle, December 11, 1977

Nelson Mandela, 1918-2013

The Barbara Jordan Archives notes the passing of Nelson Mandela.  Our condolences to his family and many friends throughout the world.

Happy Holidays!

Happy holidays from the Barbara Jordan Archives and Special Collections at Texas Southern University!  This time of year we like to display seasonal times from Jordan’s papers.  This year we thought it would be fun to look at a few items from Jordan's always busy Decembers in the early days of her public service, 1967-1973.  The life of a politician never slows down, even for the holidays.  We will also feature a special holiday exhibit at the RJT Library through the month of December, so if you're in the in neighborhood, stop by and say hello!

All the best to you and yours from the staff of Special Collections and the Barbara Jordan Archives. 

Invitation to the White House from LBJ,

December 9, 1967.  This was most likely one of

Jordan's first meetings with Johnson. 

Jordan at the groundbreaking for a

youth center, Brownwood, TX,

December 11, 1969.

Christmas card list, 1973.  This was at
the end of Jordan's first year in Congress.

A page from Jordan's very busy December 1973.

The job duties demanded flexibility, as 

evidenced by the last-minute additions

and corrections. 

JFK: 50 Years On

Letter from a constituent concerning the
Kennedy assassination.  Barbara Jordan
Papers, 1979BJA001, Box 369, Folder 5.

The Barbara Jordan Archives observes the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. While Jordan and Kennedy never met (to the best of our knowledge), Jordan certainly had a connections to the President--Lyndon B. Johnson, a commitment to public service and through the spirit of Kennedy's message. 

On This Date...Post Office Dedication, 1984

On August 27, 1984, the main city post office at 401 Franklin in Houston was dedicated in Barbara Jordan's name.  The ceremony was attended by a who's who of Houston and Texas politics.  Though Jordan had been out of politics for some five years at the time, as the article notes people still took the opportunity to ask if Jordan would consider a return to the political stage.  (She refused.)

This was the first time that Jordan was honored by the United States Postal Service, but not the last--she received her own postage stamp in 2011.