On This Date...Jordan's 78th Birthday

Invitation letter for "Barbara's
Birthday Bash," 1976.  Notice the
handwritten logistics and planning
on the left.

Today marks what would have been Congresswoman Jordan's 78th birthday.  We've found a couple of birthday-related items in the collection.

1976 was an election year, and also marked a milestone for Jordan, her 40th birthday. A "Barbara's Birthday Bash" was organized as a tie-in to Jordan's re-election campaign, and the guest list featured a "who's who" of the Houston political and social circles.  The suggested donation price of $10 a ticket shows how times (and economics) have changed for political campaigns since 1976.

Ticket for "Barbara's Birthday Bash," 1976.  The Imperial
Ballroom at the Hyatt Regency is still there today.

Birthday greetings from President Carter, 1978.

Jordan also received birthday greetings from President Carter on what turned out to be her last birthday as a Member of Congress.

Jordan's birthday gives us pause to reflect on a remarkable life and career. 

On this date...Jordan's Portrait Unveiling

Sepia facsimile of Jordan's
portrait.  The original is
in full color. 

On February 8, 1975, Jordan's portrait was unveiled at the State Capitol in Austin.  Commissioned by the Texas Senate in 1973, the portrait was painted by noted Houston artist Edsel Crammer (who also painted Adelaid de Menil, George W. Bush and Rice University president Malcolm Gills, among other subjects), and the official unveiling and dedication was held in the Senate Chambers, where the portrait still hangs today.

Voice of Hope article, March 29, 1975

Jordan sits for Edsel Cramer, ca. 1974.
Photo by Bill Malone.

Just a fraction of the crowd that gathered at the State
Capitol to attend the unveiling, February 8, 1975.
Photo by Bill Malone.

Jordan and Cramer, State Capitol, Austin, Texas,
February 8, 1975.  Photo by Bill Malone.

A jubilant Jordan takes the podium as (from left)  Texas Senator
 Chet Brooks, Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby Jr., Gov. Dolph Briscoe,
and others applaud, February 8, 1975. 

Black History Month 2014

February is observed as Black History Month, and this year's theme is "Civil Rights in America."  In the Jordan Archives, we came across a few items connected to Black History Month.  Rep. Ralph Metcalfe of Illinois introduced a House Joint resolution asking for the national recognition of a black history month no less than three times (1976-1978) during Jordan's tenure in Congress, and Jordan was a co-sponsor of the second and third attempts. Below are images of the 1977 resolution and Metcalfe's letter to Jordan asking her to be a cosponsor--Jordan's handwritten consent can be seen on the letter.

Page 1, H.J. Resolution 255 (1977)

Page 2, H.J. Resolution 255

Page 3, H.J. Resolution 255

Letter to Jordan from Rep. Metcalfe, 1977

 
For more information on Black History Month, please visit the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) at http://asalh.org/index.html.

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.