- Inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1990.
- She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994.
- She was a Texas state senator (the first African-American since 1883) during the late sixties and early seventies (eventually becoming president pro tempore).
- Noted for her oratorical skills.
- She became famous during the Watergate hearings in 1974.
- Keynote speaker at the Democratic Convention of 1976 (the first woman to do so) and again in 1992.
- Ethics advisor for Gov. Ann Richards in the early nineties.
- She served as chairwoman of the United States Commission on Immigration Reform in 1994.
- She survived a near-drowning incident at her home in 1988.
- She was the first black woman from a Southern state to serve in Congress (1973-1979). She was also the first of two black congressman to serve from the South in the twentieth century.
- In her later years, suffered from multiple sclerosis and was confined to a wheelchair.
- She published her autobiography, Barbara Jordan: A Self Portrait, in 1979.
- In the eighties, she was a professor at the University of Texas.
- U.S. Representative from Texas (1973-1979).
- Biography in: "American National Biography". Supplement 1, pp. 302-304. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.
- She was subject of a play by Kristine Thatcher, "Voice of Good Hope," which the author directed at BoarsHead Theater, Lansing, MI, opening March 16, 2007, and featuring Patricia Idlette as Jordan.
- Pictured on a non-denominated ('forever') USA commemorative postage stamp in the Black Heritage series, issued 16 September 2011. Price on day of issue was 44¢.
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