As the first Black woman voted into the Texas Senate (1966−1972), lawyer Barbara Jordan was an oratory force of nature. She was subsequently elected to the United States House of Representatives (1972−1979), where she served on the Judiciary Committee. Her opening statement at the 1974 impeachment hearing of Richard Nixon is often cited as one of the best speeches in United States history, along with her keynote address at the 1976 Democratic National Convention. Jordan also was the first Black woman to serve as governor of any state in America; she was acting Texas governor for one day on June 10, 1972.

After retiring from politics in 1979, Jordan worked as a professor of Ethics at the University of Texas at Austin. Around this time, Jordan was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and eventually had to get around via  ...