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Overview
Barbara Jordan was the first African American to serve in the Texas Senate since Reconstruction, the first black woman elected to Congress from the South, and the first to deliver the keynote address at a national party convention. Yet Jordan herself remained a mystery, a woman so private that even her close friends did not know the name of the illness that debilitated her for two decades until it struck her down at the age of fifty-nine.In Barbara Jordan, Mary Beth Rogers deftly explores the forces that shaped the moral character and quiet dignity of this extraordinary woman. She reveals the seeds of Jordan's trademark stoicism while recapturing the essence of a black woman entering politics just as the civil rights movement exploded across the nation. Celebrating Jordan's elegance, passion, and patriotism, this illuminating portrayal gives new depth to our understanding of one of the most influential women of our time-a woman whose powerful convictions and flair for oratorical drama changed the political landscape of America's twentieth century.
Synopsis
Barbara Jordan was the first African American to serve in the Texas Senate since Reconstruction, the first black woman elected to Congress from the South, and the first to deliver the keynote address at a national party convention. Yet Jordan herself remained a mystery, a woman so private that even her close friends did not know the name of the illness that debilitated her for two decades until it struck her down at the age of fifty-nine.
In Barbara Jordan, Mary Beth Rogers deftly explores the forces that shaped the moral character and quiet dignity of this extraordinary woman. She reveals the seeds of Jordan's trademark stoicism while recapturing the essence of a black woman entering politics just as the civil rights movement exploded across the nation. Celebrating Jordan's elegance, passion, and patriotism, this illuminating portrayal gives new depth to our understanding of one of the most influential women of our time-a woman whose powerful convictions and flair for oratorical drama changed the political landscape of America's twentieth century.
New York Times Book Review - Phil Gailey
Splendid...Rogers has filled in many of the blanks...an ample and inspiring account of Barbara Jordan's remarkable life.
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
She represented the best in public service...." So spoke Senator Ted Kennedy of the late Barbara Jordan, the first African-American woman elected to the Texas State Senate since Reconstruction, the first black woman from the South elected to Congress, and the first African American to deliver a keynote address at a national political party convention. Many recall Jordan's heroic role in the Nixon Watergate hearings, but her private life has to date gone largely unexplored. In Barbara Jordan: An American Hero, longtime Jordan colleague and friend Mary Beth Rogers explores Jordan's rich life and storied career, beginning with her impoverished Houston childhood and extending through her surprising and sudden withdrawal from public life.People Magazine
...[E]ngaging...Phil Gailey
Splendid...Rogers has filled in many of the blanks...an ample and inspiring account of Barbara Jordan's remarkable life.—New York Times Book Review