Talk:Barbara Jordan

message: Jordan was born in Houston, Texas. She graduated magna cum laude from Texas Southern University in 1956 and from Boston University Law School in 1959. She passed the Bar Exams in Massachusetts and Texas before returning to Houston to open a law practice.
Active in the Kennedy-Johnson presidential campaign of 1960, Jordan wanted to be a part of the change. She unsuccessfully ran for the Texas House of Representatives in 1962 and 1964. Her persistence won her a seat in the Texas Senate in 1966, becoming the first African American state senator since 1883 and the first black woman to serve in that body. Reelected to a full term in the Texas Senate in 1968, she served until 1972, when she made a successful bid to represent Texas's Eighteenth Congressional District in the U.S. House, becoming the first black woman from a Southern state to serve in the House. She was reelected in 1974 and 1976. She received extensive support from President Lyndon Johnson, who helped her secure a position on the House Judiciary Committee.
In 1973, Jordan began to suffer from multiple sclerosis which eventually confined her to a wheelchair. In 1974, she made a well-known speech before the House Judiciary Committee supporting the impeachment of President Richard Nixon. She gave a speech at the 1976 Democratic National Convention that is considered by many historians to have been the best convention keynote speech in modern history. Because of her illness, Jordan retired from politics in 1979 and became a professor at the University of Texas at Austin Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. She again was a keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention in 1992.
Jordan kept her health and her lesbianism out of the press. Nancy Earl, her life partner for over twenty years, was her caregiver during her final illness and executor of her estate.
Jordan was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994. It was only one of many honors given her, including election into both the Texas and National Women's Hall of Fame. In 1995, Jordan chaired a congressional commission that advocated increased restriction of immigration and increased penalties on employers that violated US immigration regulations. She was buried in the Texas State Cemetery in Austin. She was the first black woman interred there-— Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.81.28.232 (talk) 16:33, 4 February 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Untitled

message: Scott Tillinghast Houston TX --208.100.206.195 19:33, 27 June 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Since the districts, did indeed exist, even if in other parts of the state, the practice is to list the previous incumbent as her predecessor.  This is especially so in regard to Congress, since there is no local residency requirement for running for Congress.Argos'Dad 15:27, 29 July 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Prdecessors 

message: The article says that Jordan's speech in support of impeachment came after she was re-elected in 1974. But that election took place three months after Nixon resigned. It seems likely therefore that the speech took place before her re-election. I don't know. Could someone check into it? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by  Lkunz (talk • contribs) 9 November 2006.
:It's not wrong, just badly worded.  It means after reelection in 1972 she made a speech in 1974.  It's trying to squeeze an event into a phrase in another sentence, and it created mush. I'll fix it some way. -- Randall Bart 20:46, 21 December 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Oh wait.  You're right, that's wrong.-- Randall Bart 21:06, 21 December 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Judiciary Committee speech 

message: Man, I'm doing a lot of talking about Jordan today! I added in her infobox that she was a Baptist. I'd like to find an appropriate place to discuss Good Hope Baptist Church, which was and is (I think) a fairly liberal church in Austin. Any suggestions? Perhaps under personal life? Mvblair 18:48, 17 September 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Religion 

message: The only place her death is mentioned at all is in the Awards section -- I almost didn't spot it when I skimmed the article. More importantly, the article says nothing about the cause of death, which, IIRC, was related to her decline in health due to :multiple sclerosis. But somebody more certain of the facts needs to add a line or two about this subject -- at the end of the Biography section. Thanks in advance! Cgingold (talk) 11:28, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Death 

message: This by Barbara Jordan seems to me to be relevant:  "I believe that women have a capacity for understanding and compassion which man structurally does not have, does not have it because he cannot have it. He's just incapable of it."
: What is the source? And to which section do you think it could be added? Debresser (talk) 10:35, 21 May 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Misandry 

message: There's a tag that proof has to be provided that Jordan was an anti-illegal immigration activist. The article says: In 1995, Jordan chaired a Congressional commission that advostcated increased restriction of immigration and increased penalties on employers that violated U.S. immigration regulations (with source).
It would seem clear that this proves that she was anti-illegal immigration. The question seems to be whether she was also an activist. I have not found any evidence (using Google) that she made any special efforts in connection with this opinion, besides her work on this commission.
Is this called an activist or no? Debresser (talk) 01:44, 5 February 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: I don't see any evidence that Jordan pushed the issue beyond chairing an ad-hoc commision created by a sub-committee that issued a report. The mandate of the Commission was to review and evaluate the implementation and impact of U.S. immigration policy and to transmit to the Congress reports of its findings and recommendations. So far as I can tell, Jordan did not draft legislation to enact any of the commission's proposals, and didn't notably push to get any bills passed. It appears that she died while the commission was still doing its work, so it's possible that she may have become an activist on the topic had she lived. But chairing a commission is a routine activity for a congresional representative, and I don't that it alone establoshes Jordan as an activist on the topic. Therefore, I'm going to remove the category. If we find more sources on her activism then we can restore it.   Will Beback  talk   00:41, 14 June 2009 (UTC)
replies: text:  Thank you for adressing this issue. Debresser (talk) 00:45, 14 June 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  anti-illegal immigration activist 

message: Before the edit was starts... let's discuss it here. I think the information added, reverted and re-reverted is not realy important enough. At most it should be a line like "While she was Chair of the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform she notably said: “It is both a right and a responsibility of a democratic society to manage immigration so that it serves the national interest.” ".
Your opinions? Debresser (talk) 10:34, 21 May 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: I removed the paragraph again about numbersusa.com. The sources added do not backup the claims made. They constitute original research as currently written. Further, the organization is hardly portrayed in a neutral manner. Please discuss it here before re-adding so that we may come to a consensus. Thank you. Wperdue (talk) 17:01, 21 May 2009 (UTC)
replies: text:  Just be carefull not to revert again. Even without the Wikipedia:Three-revert rule that is driving things up top. There's any number of editors that can and will have a look if needed. Debresser (talk) 17:18, 21 May 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: Quotations are best included in Wikiquote. For the encyclopedia, we might just summarize the quotation, saying something like "she believed that managing immigration served the national interest."   Will Beback  talk   19:10, 21 May 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: I'd be happy to have more eyes on this issue to form a consensus. I feel comfortable with the reverts so far. Personally, I've removed it three times in as many days, and I see it has been reverted by other editors as well. I'd like to see some comments from the person who keeps adding it. Wperdue (talk) 21:05, 21 May 2009 (UTC)

text: It is important that Wikipedia be neutral . . . neither pro- nor anti- a particular viewpoint.
Wikipedia should not be Hero Worship.   
Featuring a piece about a UT-Austin statue as relevant to her Legacy is laudatory and don't we wish that is all there was to report. But it is clear that her work is regularly cited by anti-immigration activists.       There are even sites out there that argue her interests were to safeguard African-American labor against competition from immigrants.  Now, it is clear that last viewpoint is arguable.  But it is not arguable that her "legacy," such as it is, includes sentiments that are still used in current political discourse to promote anti-immigration,
"While she was Chair of the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform she notably said: “It is both a right and a responsibility of a democratic society to manage immigration so that it serves the national interest.” [2][3]  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Paulasiri2 (talk • contribs) 21:48, 23 May 2009 (UTC)

text: Here's the version I hope to post to the article if I hear no objection.
Is as neutral as possible, I think, insofar as it does cite multiple aspects of her legacy, not just the laudatory ones.
If someone has more info on the IN YMCA named after her, that would also be great . . . maybe you can post this instead of me if you find the info. I looked on the YMCA's website but could find no "history" section which indicated when it was christened  Barb. Jordan
Paulasiri2 (talk) 22:21, 23 May 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Before the edit war starts 

message: I found:
*Fleck, Tim. "The Insider." Houston Press. Thursday January 25, 1996.
WhisperToMe (talk) 21:55, 20 November 2011 (UTC)
thread_title: Funeral stuff

message: Moreover, if anyone knows if she didn't seek reelection in 1979 or was defeated that would be of great help.  I hope to see this article greatly expanded.  Amazing person, incredible orator. Aruhnka (talk) 12:39, 21 November 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Any national or local Texas news on her campaign in '73?

message: I am amazed and nonplussed that Jordan's involvement in the Watergate Hearings is given one lousy sentence. "She made an influential speech". Whomever wrote this doesn't know their U.S. history, nor do they understand the impact she had on the hearings and everyone who listened to her as she described the constitutional criteria for impeachment. This is THE event that catapulted her to the public's attention. Her eloquent speeches during this extremely divisive time in U.S. politics were something for the history books and THE REASON she is rememberd to this day. Instead, I read a lot of blather on her sexual orientation. If this is the (sub)standard that Wikipedia articles maintain then ALL of us should be able to contribute to these articles, WITHOUT being a member of Wikipedia!
Very sincerely, Heather Smith  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.119.179.21 (talk) 06:50, 8 July 2012 (UTC)
replies: text: Welcome to Wikipedia, Heather Smith.  The great thing about Wikipedia is that ALL of us ARE able to contribute to these articles WITHOUT being a member.  So, please edit the article.  Just note a few preliminaries, check this out Wikipedia:A Primer for newcomers and be sure you support any controversial or questionable fact with a source.  Again, welcome. Argos'Dad 17:36, 8 July 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Watergate: Historical Impact 

message: This speech should be recorded on her article.    🍺  Antiqueight confer 20:32, 21 October 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: Any comments at all? If not I'll go ahead with the merge in a couple of days.    🍺  Antiqueight confer 00:15, 9 December 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  Proposed merge with [[Statement on the Articles of Impeachment]] 

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thread_title:  External links modified 

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thread_title:  External links modified 

message: I check pages listed in :Category:Pages with incorrect ref formatting to try to fix reference errors. One of the things I do is look for content for orphaned references in wikilinked articles. I have found content for some of :Barbara Jordan's orphans, the problem is that I found more than one version. I can't determine which (if any) is correct for this article, so I am asking for a sentient editor to look it over and copy the correct ref content into this article.
Reference named "history":
From Charles Stark Draper: 
From Jeannette Rankin: 
From International Standard Book Number: 
From Libertarian Party (United States): 
From Delta Sigma Theta: Delta GEMS. Retrieved on December 13, 2008.
From Boston University: Boston University | Visitor Center | About the University |History , retrieved May 6, 2006
From List of Delta Sigma Theta sisters: 
From Gloria Steinem: 
I apologize if any of the above are effectively identical; I am just a simple computer program, so I can't determine whether minor differences are significant or not. AnomieBOT⚡ 04:23, 22 August 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  Orphaned references in [[:Barbara Jordan]] 

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thread_title:  External links modified 

message: Hello! This is a note to let the editors of this article know that :File:Rep. Barbara Jordan - Restoration.jpg will be appearing as picture of the day on . You can view and edit the POTD blurb at Template:POTD/2018-11-03. If this article needs any attention or maintenance, it would be preferable if that could be done before its appearance on the Main Page. Thanks  — Amakuru (talk) 15:25, 1 November 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  Image from this article to appear as POTD soon 

message: Barbara Jordan was known to be gay in the 1970s, while she served in the US Congress. Certainly, the handful of tabloids back then had coverage on this because that was the vehicle for the rest of the US to know that... Stevenmitchell (talk) 11:46, 3 November 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  Jordan was said to be gay 40 years ago 

message: At one point in the article it says she was from the fourth ward in Houston, but the link is to the page for the fifth ward, if anyone knows which is correct please fix it.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.201.253.249 (talk) 14:43, 14 December 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  fourth vs fifth ward 

message: Jordan is listed on List of LGBT members of the United States Congress while her bio doesn't exactly confirm this. I see it's been discussed in threads (above) but I just wondered what the current opinion on this is. The source for the list is a LGBT website that I'm not sure is a reliable source. Liz Read! Talk! 02:12, 5 January 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: Could you be more specific as to what your question about reliability is based on? -Jason A. Quest (talk) 06:08, 5 January 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: I have the same concern as Liz. The article relies pretty heavily on these two sources: https://web.archive.org/web/20081114152344/http://www.hrc.org/issues/3554.htm and https://web.archive.org/web/20071214015046/http://www.planetout.com/news/history/aahist/jordan.html. They do not seem reliable. Other sources are less clear about her sexual orientation. I have edited the article to make it less cut-and-dried on this point. Amandil21 (talk) 21:30, 12 August 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: The Human Rights Campaign is one of the oldest extant LGBTQ organizations in the United States, with strong connections in Washington dating back to when Jordan was politically active. At the time of that article, PlanetOut was the publisher of The Advocate, which is even older and a mainstay of the LGBTQ news media. These are among the "sources of record" for LGBTQ history. Additionally, both have tended toward a policy of don't-ask-don't-tell regarding closeted public figures, so it's not as if they're known for trafficking in unsubstantiated rumors. How are they not reliable sources? -Jason A. Quest (talk) 01:58, 13 August 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: Well, both pieces treat Jordan's lesbianism as an established fact without giving any basis for saying so. The PlanetOut piece acknowledges that Nancy Earl denied that she was Jordan's partner; despite this, that article is entitled "Stateswoman Barbara Jordan - A Closeted Lesbian". So where are they getting this information from? Are we just supposed to take their word for it? Amandil21 (talk) 04:15, 13 August 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: Wikipedia is based on citing reliable sources. As long as those sources are credible (which these are), we don't demand that they cite their sources. Reporting a denial while still maintaining that it's true is what fact-based organizations do. Why would we question the credibility of an LGBT political organization or news publisher on the subject of LGBT politicians? That's like questioning Christianity Today when they say that a late preacher was a Calvinist: they would know, better than most. -Jason A. Quest (talk) 19:07, 13 August 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: OK, Jason, I hear your point re: the potential expertise of an LGBT publication on an LGBT topic. But the fact that HRC is a lobbying group give me pause. Christianity Today isn't a good comparison, at least when it comes to HRC. Would the encyclopedia treat a Christian lobbying group's website as a reliable source for information about a preacher? Also, I get that a source doesn't have to cite a source. But when a source is talking about someone's relationship and is flatly contradicting what one of the people in the relationship (here, Nancy Earl) says about that relationship, shouldn't the source give some basis for why it discounts what the person has said? And if it doesn't provide such a basis, is it really a reliable source in this instance? Amandil21 (talk) 19:22, 13 August 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: I'm sorry: I thought the fact that CT also has a social agenda with political implications was obvious. To make it clear: I regard CT as a clearly biased – but credible – source, because they have little to gain and much to lose by trafficking in that kind of falsehood. -Jason A. Quest (talk) 02:06, 14 August 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: Granted, CT has an agenda, but it isn't a lobbying organization. For me, that distinguishes it from HRC. Amandil21 (talk) 18:39, 14 August 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: My position is this: Lots of sources say that Jordan and Earl were partners. However, neither woman appears to have confirmed this, and some sources express tentativeness about the exact nature of the relationship. I think the encyclopedia should express some tentativeness as well. I have just edited the page in a way that I think is faithful to the sources, and I welcome others' input. Amandil21 (talk) 19:08, 14 August 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: The U.S. National Archives has stated that Jordan was the first LGBTQ+ woman in Congress: https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2021/06/10/lgbtq-history-month-barbara-jordan/. I've added this to the article. I think this calls for restoring Jordan on the LGBT Congress members list. Olivaw-Daneel (talk) 06:21, 15 August 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: Olivaw-Daneel, I agree and have restored Jordan to the LGBT members of Congress page. I have also added information to this page accordingly. Amandil21 (talk) 18:10, 16 August 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  Sexual orientation again

message: — Assignment last updated by Eligore28 (talk) 17:55, 13 March 2024 (UTC)
thread_title: Wiki Education assignment: Digital Rhetoric

message: There is a paragraph in the Texas section talking about the features of the Barbara Jordan Park located in Needville, Texas that is about word for word copying the source https://www.fortbendcountytx.gov/government/departments/parks-and-recreation/county-parks-community-centers/barbara-jordan-park. Maybe the section should be reworded or removed? I don't know if the features of the park is relevant to Jordan's wikipedia. Also the park is mentioned in the first paragraph of the Texas section, so it might seem repetitive to add a whole new paragraph about the park.  Student2324 (talk) 04:34, 10 April 2024 (UTC)
thread_title:  Removing or rewording section about Needville, TX Barbara Jordan Park