Quotes by Barbara Jordan

About Barbara Jordan:

Barbara Charline Jordan was an American politician and a leader of the Civil Rights movement. A Democrat, she was the first African American elected to the Texas Senate after Reconstruction, the first southern black female elected to the United States House of Representatives, and the first African-American woman to deliver the keynote address at a Democratic National Convention. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, among numerous other honors. She was a member of the Peabody Awards Board of Jurors from 1978 to 1980. On her death, she became the first African-American woman to be buried in the Texas State Cemetery.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

I think it no accident that most of those emigrating to America in the 19th century identified with the Democratic Party. We are a heterogeneous party made up of Americans of diverse backgrounds.

Barbara Jordan

Let's all understand that these guiding principles cannot be discarded for short-term political gains. They represent what this country is all about. They are indigenous to the American idea. And these are principles which are not negotiable.

Barbara Jordan

We have made mistakes. In our haste to do all things for all people, we did not foresee the full consequences of our actions. And when the people raised their voices, we didn't hear. But our deafness was only a temporary condition, and not an irrever...

Barbara Jordan

I felt somehow for many years that George Washington and Alexander Hamilton just left me out by mistake. But through the process of amendment, interpretation, and court decision, I have finally been included in 'We, the people.'

Barbara Jordan

There is no executive order; there is no law that can require the American people to form a national community. This we must do as individuals and if we do it as individuals, there is no President of the United States who can veto that decision.

Barbara Jordan

Let each person do his or her part. If one citizen is unwilling to participate, all of us are going to suffer. For the American idea, though it is shared by all of us, is realized in each one of us.

Barbara Jordan

If we promise as public officials, we must deliver. If we as public officials propose, we must produce.

Barbara Jordan

I have confidence that we can form this kind of national community.

Barbara Jordan

I never intended to become a run-of-the-mill person.

Barbara Jordan

The citizens of America expect more. They deserve and they want more than a recital of problems.

Barbara Jordan

In other times, I could stand here and give this kind of exposition on the beliefs of the Democratic Party and that would be enough. But today that is not enough. People want more.

Barbara Jordan

Even as I stand here and admit that we have made mistakes I still believe that as the people of America sit in judgment on each party, they will recognize that our mistakes were mistakes of the heart. They'll recognize that.

Barbara Jordan

Let us heed the voice of the people and recognize their common sense. If we do not, we not only blaspheme our political heritage, we ignore the common ties that bind all Americans.

Barbara Jordan

Let there be no illusions about the difficulty of forming this kind of a national community. It's tough, difficult, not easy. But a spirit of harmony will survive in America only if each of us remembers that we share a common destiny.

Barbara Jordan

The imperative is to define what is right and do it.

Barbara Jordan

Our concept of governing is derived from our view of people. It is a concept deeply rooted in a set of beliefs firmly etched in the national conscience, of all of us.

Barbara Jordan

We must exchange the philosophy of excuse - what I am is beyond my control for the philosophy of responsibility.

Barbara Jordan

One thing is clear to me: We, as human beings, must be willing to accept people who are different from ourselves.

Barbara Jordan

Think what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world, had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down on our blankets for a nap.

Barbara Jordan

There is no obstacle in the path of young people who are poor or members of minority groups that hard work and preparation cannot cure.

Barbara Jordan

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.

Barbara Jordan

Author Bio

  • NameBarbara Jordan
  • DescriptionAmerican politician
  • BornFebruary 21, 1936
  • DiedJanuary 17, 1996
  • CountryUnited States Of America
  • ProfessionPolitician; Author
  • AwardsSpingarn Medal; Presidential Medal Of Freedom; National Women's Hall Of Fame