Barbara Jordan African American Achievements

Barbra Charlie Jordan was born February 21, 1936, in Houston, TX. Her mother was a teacher, maid and a housewife. Barbra went to Wheatley high school, where she went to be an attorney. At southern university Barbra attended the Inaugural class. Jordan graduated magna cum laude from southern state university in 1956.

In 1976, Barbara Jordan made history with her powerful syntax and optimistic allusions during her keynote address. Jordan was not only the first woman to deliver a Keynote Address, but she was also the first African American to do so. Through confident posture and thoughtful pronunciation, Barbara informed her Democratic Party of new ways to put power back with the people, diminish racial segregation, and decline sexual discrimination. Jordan intended to reach her Democratic Party, yet she reaches the entire nation as she establishes herself as a leader to all women, African Americans, and the American society.

Althea Gibson played the sport tennis and she Is the one who made the game tennis. They both wanted to be something In life. Barbara Jordan wanted to be a professor. When Althea was a child, she struggle and she loved to play sports. Althea was Inducted Into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1971, later she served as and Commissioner of Athletics for the state of New Jersey. Jordan she had suffered from multiple sclerosis since 1973 and she was In a wheelchair bound by the time she was Invited to give her second Democratic Convention Keynote Address In 1992. Also they both achieve something that they wanted In life so If they can do It you can do

Jordan was a civil rights activist. She was a African American woman in the 1900’s. Being an African American woman in the 1900’s wasn’t easy. The women didn't get certain jobs because they are women and they “should do” household things. Jordan was the first African American woman to have a seat in the Texas Legislature.

Barbara Charline Jordan contributed many things to help equality for African-Americans and to put an impact on society. She was a lawyer, educator, and was the first African-American women from the south to join Congress. Ever since she was in high school, Barbara had been a very talented public speaker. As a result of being such an inspirational speaker, she gave the opening speech for President Nixon impeachment hearing in 1974. Barbara’s time in Congress ended after three terms and became a professor and policy advocate.

Without the diverse roles of African American women during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, African Americans would have faced even more discrimination, segregation, and hardships. Brave African American women fought for not only racial equality, but also gender equality primarily through their education and their experiences abroad. African American women activists such as Mary Church Terrell, Josephine Baker, and Eslanda Robeson had both similarities and differences in the process of advancing the African American masses during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. They also impacted African Americans through their work in organizations such as the NAACP and WILPF where they fought for civil rights and racial justice. Each woman

Women’s Rights was and still is a major issue throughout the entire world, but more specifically, in the United States of America. Women have been treated unjustly for awhile. From being beaten by their husbands, to not being able to own property if they were married, women have been through it all. Many of these situations started to change because of a group of women that decided to stand up for what they believe in. A few activists that helped improve the rights of women are Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Lucretia Mott.

A couple years after the Civil War had ended, African American men were given the right to vote and the right to attempt to live the American dream. With this information, Anthony took off. She felt that women should be granted at least the same

Beyond experiencing biases against women, Alexandria faced discrimination as an African American woman. Through the inequity against her,

Initially, I was tasked with playing the role of the leader. It was not very difficult since the path from the Barbra Jordan Statue to the MLK Statue became a normal route to get to my classes. It was easy to lead my blind partner since I had already found the shortest way to get there. However, the trip was actually quite interesting. It amazed me that someone whom I had just met put his complete trust in letting me guide him across the other side of campus. Many people on campus stared at us while we walked, but it had not bothered us. During the trip, I learned a lot about my partner. He was from Austin, Texas – a Westlake High School graduate – with a football scholarship. He’s currently an undeclared freshman, but plans on transferring to the McCombs School of Business. Our main obstacle was the stairs since we took the path from Inner Campus Drive. Additionally, it had been even more difficult because UT was already a giant hill and the roads weren’t the smoothest. We developed a feasible system which basically included a lot of warnings and counting the amount of stair steps. Overall, leading seamed much easier than following since I had all my senses to direct me.

Women have more rights in the early 2000's but still have to work for more. In 2004 Wangari Maathai is the first African American woman to win the Noble Peace Prize( Women's Rights Timeline). Hillary Clinton becomes the first Senator of New York that is also a first lady in 2005. In 2007 Nancy Pelosi becomes the first female speaker of the House( Detailed Timeline). In 2014 women are allowed to serve roles in the military.

An achievement is a thing done successfully, typically done by effort, courage, or skill. Every individual has their fair share of achievements accomplished. Accomplishing these achievements help our self-esteem and help us grow mentally. The last time I accomplished something great was when I received the Top Scholar award in the fifth grade. It was a very intense year. The Top Scholar award is a very prestigious award that is given to the person who worked the hardest throughout the year. There were many times where I just wanted to give up and just settle for second place. However, my mother, family, teacher and friends kept urging me to never give up. At the end of the year, I was awarded the Top Scholar award for my class. I felt like I had truly accomplished something great. The Top Scholar award was the greatest achievement I’ve received because the award taught me to never give up, reflected my potential, and helped me develop great skills.

Because of gender norms in the 1960’s, society was resistant toward women in power and leadership, especially African American ones. Even though African American women had the traits, skills, and personalities to be formal leaders of social justice movements like the Civil Rights Movement, they were never given a platform to do so, mostly because their leadership wouldn’t be recognized as legitimate

“In our competitive society, stress is placed on personal achievement. This is measured by accomplishments, such as economic ones. Success emphasizes rewards. Success is involved with activity; failure is often assigned to character defects. success is often equated with bigness and newness.” Achievement and success drive the modern day American. America is a place where success can be grasped but not by everyone. This is why success and achievement do not accurately describe American society.

The push to keep training and maintaining the discipline of a Basketball player despite the initial rejection makes Michael Jordan iconic. He knew that the way to the top would not be easy, but he was determined to do all it takes to get there. This shows that no one who truly wants to make a mark should think that life is a bed of roses. There is something to overcome; there are disciplines to maintain if we want to get to great heights. We can overcome obstacles like a genius when we pattern our lives to do the things that geniuses do.