Barbara Jordan Remembered as Spiritual Force

President Clinton eulogized former Rep. Barbara Jordan on Saturday as a tower of spiritual and political strength who fought passionately for her race and her nation.

“Wherever she could and whenever she stood to speak, she jolted the nation’s attention with her artful and articulate defense of the Constitution, the American dream, and the common heritage and destiny we share, whether we like it or not,” Clinton said.

Jordan, a former Democratic representative from Texas, died last week at age 59 of pneumonia and complications of leukemia.

Clinton recalled her 1976 speech to the Democratic National Convention, in which Jordan noted that when the Constitution was originally written, the words “We the People” did not apply to herself and other black Americans, most of whom were slaves.

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“Well, if Barbara wasn’t in the Constitution when it was first written, she made sure that once she got in it, she stayed in it all the way,” the president said.

Good Hope Missionary Church, which Jordan attended, was filled for the two-hour funeral. Scores stood outside under umbrellas in a fine mist listening to the service on speakers.

The congregation was studded with recognizable faces, including Housing Secretary Henry G. Cisneros, Education Secretary Richard W. Riley, Atty. Gen. Janet Reno and several members of Congress.

Every speaker at the service noted Jordan’s deep, rich voice.

Former Texas Democratic Gov. Ann Richards called Jordan an “American original” and said she was as “true as the North Star.”

In 1972, Jordan became the first black person to be elected to Congress from the South since Reconstruction. Jordan first attracted national notice in 1974 as a member of the House committee considering impeachment of President Richard Nixon.

After she left Congress, Jordan went home to teach at the University of Texas and continue her work in public service.