200 Years of LGBTQIA+ History

From Shadows to Pride — UK & Global Timeline

Source Record

Barbara Jordan

Why this source is used

Biographical overview of Barbara Jordan and her trailblazing role in US politics.

Start with the answer

Start with the answer Which LGBTQ+ public figures changed visibility? They changed visibility in politics, science, activism and literature by showing that queer lives could be public, influential and historic. Read the topic guide Queer Public Trailblazers Queer public trailblazers made LGBTQ+ lives visible across science, civil rights, elected office and trans liberation, often while facing erasure or punishment.

Source Status

Publisher
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Type
secondary
Reliability
high
Cited by
3 pages

Source Links

Open original source https://www.britannica.com/biography/Barbara-Jordan Accessed 5 June 2026 Open archived copy https://web.archive.org/web/*/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Barbara-Jordan

Used by Topics

Queer Public Trailblazers

Used by Questions

Which LGBTQ+ public figures changed visibility?

Used by Timeline Events

7 November 1972 LegalCulturalPeople

Barbara Jordan — First Black Woman Elected to Congress from the Deep South

Barbara Jordan was elected to the US House of Representatives from Texas, becoming the first Black woman from the Deep South to serve in Congress. A brilliant orator and constitutional scholar, Jordan delivered a electrifying speech during the Nixon impeachment hearings in 1974 that made her a national figure. She went on to deliver the keynote address at the 1976 Democratic National Convention — the first African American woman to do so. Jordan was a closeted lesbian who lived with her partner Nancy Earl for nearly 30 years. Her sexuality was not publicly acknowledged until after her death in 1996, when her obituary named Earl as her long-term companion.