Several years ago, I was walking down a hall in the convention center in San Antonio, Texas, and discovered a row of bronze statues, including this one of Barbara Jordan, a
brilliant lawyer who racked up a series of firsts as a female African American politician. She achieved national prominence as the first African American to deliver the keynote speech at the Democratic national convention, and for her role as a member of the House Judiciary Committee during the Watergate hearings. On a previously trip to Texas, I had visited her grave in the Texas State Cemetery in Austin (the first African American woman to be buried there): A bas relief of her is on the marker under the word “Patriot.” At the base is a marble slab with the words; “Eloquent Champion of Ethics and Justice We the People Salute You.”
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