In run-up to statue unveiling, students honor Barbara Jordan
A dozen engrossed students gathered around the Littlefield Patio Cafe as music performance graduate student Nicole Taylor boomed “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” over the trembling speakers.
Taylor and others held a celebration honoring Barbara Jordan, who will be remembered with a statue that will be placed at 24th Street and Whitis Avenue on Friday.
“She had one of the most distinct voices, not only in what she wrote but how she said it,” said County Judge Eric Shepperd. “Speaking truth to power is what she did so well.”
Along with being one of the most dynamic speakers in U.S. history, Jordan was also the first black female in the Texas House of Representatives and the first black female from the South to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, Shepperd said.
Jordan’s statue will be the first statue of a female on campus.
“We can’t escape the diversity on campus, and that statue will remind us of that,” said Lauren Williams, president of the Black Honor Students Association.
— Matt Stephens
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