President John F. Kennedy’s Profiles in Courage talks about what it means to be a courageous political leader and all the characteristics that come with it. He mentions all the great American leaders. He also talks about how being courageous doesn't take any special qualities, “To be courageous, these stories make clear, requires no exceptional qualifications, no magic formula, no special combination of time, place and circumstance” ( Profile in Courage Quotes).
Kennedy is saying that you don't have to be a certain person in order to be courageous nor do you have to have people around you in order to make a difference in the world. Barbra Jordan showed her courage by facing racial injustice and society's norms to change other people's lives. She created the first-ever minimum wage laws in Texas, she spoke out against President Richard M. Nixon’s Watergate scandal and was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Bill Clinton.
Being born to parents who were speakers gave Barbara Jordan an advantage in talking in front of people. She started her political career after graduating from Texas University then went and got her law degree from Boston University. It didn’t take long to make herself known to the political world. She worked on the JFK presidential campaign, ran for Texas House of Representatives in both 1962 and 1964, then ran for US Senate in 1966. Jordan exemplified courage by going up against what society said about black people to change our country and made it better for everyone. Jordan lost twice while running for the Texas House of Representatives but was still able to create a voting system for over 40 African American Precincts in Texas. Any other person may allow their losing streak to discourage them from pursuing their passions but Jordan used it to fuel her forward. She beat white Liberals and earned her spot as the first African American state senator since 1883. As if that wasn’t already a major milestone, she was also the first black woman in the US Senate.
Like any man would do in the political world when they get beat out by a woman, they treated Jordan terribly. Instead of succumbing to the treatment, Jordan won them over by pushing through Texas’ first minimum wage. She also put an Anti-discrimination Clause into Texas business contracts and established the Texas Fair Employment Practices Commission. From 1970 to 1974, Jordan kept breaking barriers and overcoming her doubters. She was elected President Pro Tempore, the First black chief executive in the nation, and she became the first African American in the 20th century to be elected into Congress from the deep South. 1974 was the year of President Richard M. Nixon’s Watergate scandal. Being on the Judiciary Committee, Jordan was there for the hearing, and she gave the opening remarks. “
My faith in the Constitution is whole, it is complete, it is total. I am not going to sit here and be an idle spectator to the diminution, the subversion, the destruction of the Constitution” (ThoughtCo.). She talked about how if the US let him get away with the scandal then it would be like putting the constitution into a shredder. Standing up to people who say you can't do something is hard enough but it takes a lot of courage in order to prove them wrong over and over again. In his speech to Barbara Jordan when awarding her with the presidential medal of Freedom, Bill Clinton says, “Teaching by deed as well as by word, Barbara Jordan has dramatically articulated an enduring mortality in American politics by an unshakable faith in the Constitution….” (CSPAN). President Clinton touches on how she didn’t teach people just by doing good things but how she taught, through her words, how to be an American while staying true to the Constitution.
“Barbara Jordan Presented Presidential Medal of Freedom.” C, www.c-span.org/video/?c4540088/barbara-jordan-presented-presidential-medal-freedom.