The Will of a People: A Critical Anthology of Great African American Speeches

Barbara Charline Jordan

357 Barbara Charline Jordan Speech on Watergate to the House Judiciary Committee In July 1974, Barbara Jordan was a freshman representative from Texas, a junior member on what had, in that session, turned out to be the most important committee in Congress: the House Judiciary Committee. Since May 1974, the committee had been holding closed hearings on the subject of Richard Nixon’s impeachment. As a junior member, Jordan consciously sought to avoid having the hearing turn into a partisan brawl. She had rarely spoken, and when she did, it was usually to summarize the discussion and get the committee on to the next issue. Hoping to create an environment for rational discussion, Jordan opposed the idea of beginning the hearings with opening statements from the committee members, preferring to concentrate on the substance of the matter at hand. Most members wanted to declare their position on impeachment before a national television audience , however, and on July 24, the committee began its public hearings with each member allowed a fifteen-minute statement. As one of the most junior members of the committee, Barbara Jordan spoke towards the end of the roll, on July 25. As it occurred, her speech was delivered around nine o’clock in the evening, eastern time, affording her a prime-time audience. Newsweek summarized the national response to Jordan’s speech the following November: It was “the most memorable indictment of Richard Nixon to emerge from the House impeachment hearings.” Out of two days of generally eloquent, impassioned, and moving speeches, Barbara Jordan’s is the one that is still remembered.1 Born in Houston, Texas, in 1936, Barbara was the youngest of three daughters . Her father, Ben Jordan, had attended Tuskegee and worked in Hous- Barbara charline Jordan 358 ton as a union steward, warehouseman, and preacher. Her mother, Arlyne Patten Jordan, worked as a maid and, in her youth, had often spoken at revivals and church meetings. The Jordans drew upon traditional values in rearing their children, and Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church was the central institution in their social lives. Taught early that she should let nothing restrict her personal development, in 1952 Barbara entered Texas Southern University, an all-black university established in 1947 to delay racial integration among the Texas public universities. At TSU, she joined the speech and debate team, traveling nationally to compete against speakers from schools such as Harvard, New York University, and the University of Chicago. On the debate circuit, TSU soon acquired a national reputation, and her debate partner, Otis King, recalled that Barbara “was the absolute best orator we ever had.” After graduation, she attended Boston University, where she earned a law degree. She returned to Houston to practice law and quickly became active in Democratic Party politics. In 1962 and 1964, she ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Texas statehouse. In 1965, a Supreme Court decision ordered Texas to abandon its at-large method of districting and apportion legislative seats evenly on the basis of population. In 1966, Barbara Jordan won election in the newly created state senate district 11, encompassing most of Houston. She became the first black person elected to the Texas State Senate since 1883, and the first black female ever elected to the state legislature.2 In the all-male, all-white Texas State Senate, Jordan quickly established a reputation for practical politics. She worked tirelessly for her constituents’ interests, and although idealistic, she also understood the role of compromise in politics and grew adept at the art of deal-making. Among her many admirers was President Lyndon Johnson. Johnson recognized in the young state senator the ability to enter the national political arena, and, with his support, in 1972, Jordan won a seat in the US House of Representatives. Johnson also influenced Jordan’s appointment to the prestigious House Judiciary Committee , where she could have an impact on civil rights legislation. In the House, she became known as an effective legislator of unmatched integrity. To the nation, however, she was largely unknown except for her election “firsts” in Texas and for her election as the first African American female to Congress from the South. Her Watergate speech changed that literally overnight.3 Her speech was largely composed during the dinner break on the evening of July 25. She had been compiling notes on impeachment for some time. on Watergate 359 During the dinner hour, she directed...