I ruminate periodically on what the Democrats (because there really are only two viable parties in the US)need. My latest brainstorm is that we need to be on the lookout for another Barbara Jordon.
As I was looking for quotes to support this idea, I came upon her speech at the 1992 Democratic Convention. She begins by expressing gratitude for being asked to speak again saying
“At this time; at this place; at this event sixteen years ago – I presented a keynote address. I thank you for the return engagement and with modesty would remind you that we won the presidency in November, 1976. Why not 1992?”
I probably don’t need to remind you that the Democrats won that election.
She went on to say, “We are not strangers to change. We calmed the national unrest in the wake of the Watergate abuses and we, The Democratic Party, can seize this moment. We know what needs to be done and how to do it. We have been the instrument of change in policies which impact education, human rights, civil rights, economic and social opportunity and the environment. These are policies firmly imbedded in the soul of our party. We will do nothing to erode our essence. However, some things need to change. The Democratic Party is alive and well.”
This speech is worth reading in its entirety so I will provide the link: http://gos.sbc.edu/j/jordan2.html In her speech calling for the impeachment of Richard Nixon are these words: “My faith in the Constitution is whole, it is complete, it is total.”
So, my conclusion is that the need is for a very powerful orator who will dare to speak truth to power (that she was a hugely intelligent black woman is not to be belittled). Please keep your eyes and ears open.
Here is a link to my favorite Barbara Jordan speech, the one in which she urges her colleagues in the house to vote for impeachment of President Nixon. http://www.watergate.info/impeachment/74-07-25_barbara-jordan.shtml
My favorite line–
Today, I am an inquisitor; I believe hyperbole would not be fictional and would not overstate the solemnness that I feel right now. My faith in the Constitution is whole, it is complete, it is total. I am not going to sit here and be an idle spectator to the diminution, the subversion, the destruction of the Constitution.
This speech could be made today.
Yep, who would you nominate to give it?
I once heard someone describe Jordan’s speaking voice as “What God probably sounds like.”
Any young’uns who may be reading this, who haven’t heard her give this speech, go here for the video and listen.
I watched this live on TV as she gave it and still remember exactly where I was sitting, simply stunned by the beauty and power of this woman and her words. But I can’t hear her too much. The speech is playing in the background as I type this.
There is a wonderful photo of Jordan here with a bio of her. I tried to post it in this comment, but failed.
She is one of my all-time heroes, and I feel so privileged to live in the city where she spent her last years. Just last Friday, I was walking out of a restaurant and said, “Look, right there, right in that very spot, I said “Hello” to Barbara Jordan.” My friend said, “And what did she say?” “She said (in my totally lame voice-of-God imitation), “Hello.”
I still think of her often, and wish she was still with us.
outlanddish, I have no idea who our next Barbara Jordan will be, but I had barely heard of her before the Watergate hearings, even though I live in Texas – she represented a Houston district and I live in Austin. I don’t think anyone could have guessed her impact on the national consciousness before the Watergate hearings.
So the Barbara Jordan for our times may be someone we know little about right now. I just hope there is such a person.
Barbara Jordan is a reminder of how important races for the US Congress are. Congressional districts are relatively small and local. Congressional races are a place where those of us newbies to the political process can make a real difference.
In 1966, my best friend went door to door in Houston’s Fifth Ward registering voters. My friend was a naive, middle-class white kid, only 18 years old, not old enough to vote herself at the time, and the Fifth Ward was a tough neighborhood. Jordan had lost twice before in her run for the Texas Senate, but my friend was inspired by Jordan and was willing to get out there and work for her.
Jordan won in ’66 – the first African American since Reconstruction and the first woman, ever, to sit in the Texas Senate. Six years later, she was elected to the US House. So those local races – if you can find someone you believe in, who inspires you . . . you never know what they might be doing for us years down the road.
Thanks for posting that link Janet. It did occur to me later that there are probably a lot of people who never heard her speak and that an audio link would be a good idea.
I also lived in Austin for about 11 years and was there when she lived and taught there, but I never had the privilege of running into her even though I was in graduate school part of the time.
When she spoke, you just knew that what she said was true and that you should do what she said to do.
I once heard someone describe Jordan’s speaking voice as “What God probably sounds like.”
I love this. Whenever I hear her name I think of that amazing voice! I never quite thought of it as the voice of God, but wow, she came close, didn’t she?
Thanks for this. There was never a more eloguent and truthful speaker than Barbara Jordan, imho. She is indeed the measure to measure up to.
And Janet, I remember as well where I was and how totally spellbound I was listening to her words and thinking God gave us a perfect and beautiful gift in this woman.