Barbara Jordan marked history in a number of ways, using the
power of her speech and the clarity of her mind to break down
barriers of race and gender. The New York Times described her
oratory as "Churchillian," and one writer suggested that her
deep, Olympian sound could galvanize listeners "as though
Winston Churchill had been reincarnated as a black woman from
Texas."1 Jordan was named Best Living Orator by a professional
speakers' organization. Texas columnist Molly Ivins said that
Jordan would be the obvious choice in a casting call for the
voice of God.2 The youngest of three daughters of a Baptist
minister in a poor Houston neighborhood, Jordan attended
segregated schools, graduated from the all-black Texas Southern
University, and earned a law degree from Boston University in
1959, where she was deeply affected by Howard Thurman, dean of
Marsh Chapel. Jordan was so moved by Thurman's Sunday sermons
she would preach them again to her dormitory roommates.3 In
1966, Jordan became the first African Americ