Inquisitor, The (2025)

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[Barbara] What the people want

is very simple.

They want an America

as good as its promise.

[inspirational music playing]

[Ann] When you were

with Barbara,

you could never quite shake

the feeling

that you were in the presence

of somebody

that was truly great.

[crowd cheering in background]

[Brenda] Barbara Jordan

blazed a trail.

She was the first black woman

to serve

in the Texas State Senate.

The first black woman

elected to Congress

from the deep South.

Barbara Jordan

was a champion of our freedom,

our Constitution, and our laws.

[Woman 1] She could walk into

all white male spaces

and be respected.

[Max] She reached

into the heart of people

whose hearts didn't want

to be reached into.

[Woman 2] She was someone

who was respected

across party lines.

When Barbara Jordan spoke,

you just sat up and listened.

We are trying to spark

the consciousness in depth

of everybody in this country

and we feel that we have

the capacity to do it.

[Dan] Barbara Jordan's got

the voice of God.

[Barbara] When people are

eroding the foundation

of the country, don't be silent.

Don't be quiet.

[Woman 3] I see the conviction

and honesty that she had,

something that is absent

from politics today.

I think this mood

that we're in now is cyclical.

I think people

are basically good,

and honest, and that they care,

and I think we will return

to that posture.

[Dan] She carried the fire.

She carried the flame

at a very critical time

in American history.

Today I am an inquisitor.

My faith in the Constitution

is whole,

it is complete, it is total.

And I am not going to sit here

and be an idle spectator

to the diminution,

the subversion,

the destruction

of the Constitution.



[uplifting music playing]



It would be difficult

to understand and recognize

from where Barbara Jordan came

to what she became.

It's a great story.

It's a great American story.

[reel whirring]

[motor whirring]

[marching]

[expl*si*n]

[Barbara] You have the freedom

to choose

the kind of future you want.

You're denied the luxury

of opting out.

You can't opt out.

You're already in.

How can you opt out

where you are?

You are involved in life.

You make the choice to lead.

But if you choose to lead,

you must be sure

you have the capability,

the capacity,

the competence to do the job.

[reel whirring]

[calm music playing]



[Barbara] Myself

and my two sisters grew up

in the Fifth Ward of Houston.

We didn't know that we were in

a deprived sector of the city.

When everybody's poor,

you don't ever think

about poverty.

We thought we'd just play

in our gravel streets

and eat the dust,

which the cars would stir up.

We didn't worry about it

too much.

[uplifting music playing]

I don't know...

[Rosemary] Barbara had

a beautiful alto voice.

We started singing together

at the church

to where we belong,

at Good Hope Missionary

Baptist Church.

And we even gave them

little mini recitals.

Grandpa Patton showed

favoritism to Barbara

when we would go sometimes

back to evening church,

she would stay there with him.

[calm music playing]

[Barbara] Grandpa Patton

was a junk man.

We would weigh that paper

and weigh the rags,

hitch up his mules,

and go sell them.

I say we, because I was

my Grandpa Patton's

partner in business.

And we had more money

than anybody we encountered.

[horses neigh]

[Barbara] My father wanted

excellence in his children.

I was very proud

of a report card.

I had five As and one B.

My father, he looked at it

and then with a scowl,

"Why do you have this B?"

So I was reverent toward him,

he taught me to love,

to do the best that I could do.

I didn't want to be

run of the mill.

I don't want to be

just same old, same old.

I want to be

a little bit different

and uh, superior to tell truth.

[birds chirping]

[Otis] Barbara and I

were students

together in high school

and we went on

to Texas Southern University

together.

We were partners as members

of the Texas Southern

University debate team

under the direction

of Dr. Thomas Freeman.

[Brenda] Dr. Thomas Freeman

was a well-known

renowned debate coach

and he taught Martin Luther King

and some others.

Under him, she learned

about cadence

and the importance of research,

of enunciation, pacing.

[upbeat music playing]



[Rodney] Everybody loved

Dr. Freeman.

All of us on the debate team

did as much as we could

to please him.

He told me a good speaker

accomplishes three things.

You make people laugh,

you make people cry,

and you make sense.

And if you can only do one,

make sense

and sit your boring self down.

[Barbara] We would drive

into a city.

The signs are up.

White, colored.

Thomas Freeman would refuse

to go in the back door.

"He said, " We'll get a sandwich

and eat it

by the side of the road

"before I take you through

a back door."

That certainly made

an impression on me.

[door bell jingles]

[upbeat music playing]

[Otis] The final event

for Barbara and me

was a debate against a team

from Harvard University,

something akin to being

in the World Series, I guess.

[Rodney] It was a first.

A black university in the South,

as deep in the heart of Dixie

as you could get,

with a all-black debate team,

against Harvard University.

[Barbara] The judges of the

debate said it ended in a tie.

People were shocked.

[Barbara] Harvard is supposed

to be so high, and sharp,

and smart that debating

a little group like TSU

to call it a tie,

we must have won.

[Otis] It just really

told us personally

that we could leave

Texas Southern University

and go on to do anything

that we wanted to do.

[Barbara] I was a sophomore

at Texas Southern University.

I can remember reading

this big headline,

"Segregation Ends."

And I said, "Ha, dog."

In my naivet,

I thought tomorrow morning

it was going to happen.

When I say,

it was a miracle for her

to come out of the 5th ward

of that era.

I mean, you were not permitted

to leave 5th ward.

We are right in the shadow

of Downtown Houston.

But you couldn't go

Downtown Houston.

[Barbara] Before I went to

law school,

my world had been all black.

[chatter]

[Barbara] And then I arrive

to attend law school

at Boston University.

In our entering class,

there were about 300 people.

Of the 300, there were

three or four blacks.



[Barbara] I knew that

if I worked harder

and studied longer,

I'd survive it.

But one thing I discovered

by observing

is that young white people

love to stop

whatever they're doing

and have a cup of coffee.

I would just go around and say,

"You need to take a break.

Let's have a cup

of coffee."

That always worked.

I formed many friendships

over a cup of coffee.

[Barbara] The first thing

I did when I got my law degree

was to take the red ribbon off

and make sure

that my name was on it.

And then I cried.

Because of what

had gone into it.

[car whirring]

[car whooshing]

[upbeat music playing]

[Barbara] I had the notion

that I'd like to do something

to affect the way

masses of people live.

I became very interested

in politics working first

in the Kennedy-Johnson campaign.

[applause]

Let us move for the unified goal

of an America where every man

will be free to live and be

whatever he desires to be.

[Mary] She started speaking

at some events

and began to come

to public attention.

[Barbara] The Democrats

around there said,

"You ought to run

for the Texas House

of Representatives."

[Mary] They saw Barbara

as a person

around whom the black community

could coalesce.

[Barbara] I ran twice

for the Texas legislation

and was defeated.

Why could I not win?

[Max] It was a time

when cities like Houston

were gerrymandered

in a different way

because they stacked the deck.

People had to run into

these countrywide district,

so that meant that

in Houston, in Austin, Dallas,

black voters never could get

a majority of anything.

[Ashley] The districts

were discriminatory

in how their lines

were outlined,

in order to divide

the black voting black.

[Max] She got more votes

not to be elected

to the Texas House

than I got to be elected

to the Texas Senate.

[Barbara] The disappointment

was especially bitter,

because I was playing

by the rules,

but the rules were not fair.

Then the Supreme Court

established the principle

of one person, one vote.

[Ashley] That opened up

the door for districts

to be redrawn in ways

where black people

could represent black people.

[Barbara] The Texas

legislature was required

to reapportion itself.

So in 1966, I ran again,

this time in one of those

newly-created

state senatorial districts.

I won.

And my political career

got started.

[Jasmine] It speaks to why

it is important

that we have people

who accurately interpret

these constitutional amendments.

This is how we ended up

with seats where black folk

could have a voice.

[Senfronia] At that

particular time,

black people only could be

on the Capitol ground

if you were cutting the grass,

polishing the statues

or cleaning the building.

On her first day,

she was like an unknown person

from outer space coming

into the Texas Senate.

They didn't even have

a restroom which she could use

and they had to build

a bathroom specifically

for her to use.

The good thing about that is

they let her design it.

Everybody's going down

to see what she looks like

to see someone come back

to the Senate

after reconstruction,

an African American and a woman.

It made black people

feel like they had a say

in help to shape

their government.

Barbara Jordan

carried with her at all times,

the Constitution

and a photo of her grandfather.

[reel whirring]

[Barbara] My grandpa

was always saying

that you couldn't trust

the world out there,

so you had to figure things

out for yourself,

but you had to love humanity

even if you couldn't trust it.

[playful music playing]

[Rodney] Barbara Jordan

came along in a era

in which you had

a very conservative

group of men

who ran the Texas Senate.

Many of the older white men

who were in that

had probably never had

any kind of relationship

with a black woman

unless she was a maid

in his house.

[Ben] I was a speaker

of the house

and I went over to the Senate

to see the Senate sworn in.

There were a lot of older men

that had reservations

about what kind of senator,

uh, Barbara's gonna be.

The Senate would go on hunts.

There were some reservations

at first on part

of the senators.

What are we gonna ask Barbara?

We're all men.

No one really hunted,

they played cards,

and drank whiskey,

and sang songs.

Could Barbara fit in?

We asked Barbara to go

and not only did she fit in,

she brought her guitar.

She was one of the first ones

down around the fire

and had a glass of scotch

in her hand

and she was one

of the last ones to go to bed.

Barbara Jordan was really

a good old boy

and everybody realized that.

[Jasmine] She walked in

with a certain level

of credentials,

and she was able to demand

a level of respect

that they probably

didn't even know

that they would be giving

to a Black woman.

[Barbara] Once I cut through

the maleness

of the Texas State Senate

and their view

that I was going to be

a disruptive force

rather than a helping force,

I enjoyed being in the Senate.

[Rodney] The Texas Senate,

you have to persuade people.

So even if you sh**t down

that argument and debate,

you got to do it in such a way

you don't anger 'em,

because you may need

their vote 10 minutes later.

[Mary] Barbara learned

a whole lot

about political power.

[Ben] Barbara did some things

that some

of her liberal friends

would have been disappointed

if they'd had known

that she did that.

[Barbara] We didn't agree

politically

on practically anything,

but I got along with them

and formed genuine friendships.

We sat by each other

over and over.

We began to talk

about ourselves,

tell our history

and became close,

close friends,

almost brother and sister.

[birds chirping]

At the time,

there was a really vibrant

civil rights and black power

movement going on.

[reel whirring]

I tell you,

I got to change my life,

because I'm choking to death.

[indistinct chanting]

[Huey] The party is one

with the people,

because we struggle

with all oppressed people.

We struggle against

the international bourgeoisie.

[Fannie] I went down

the 31st of August

to try to register.

They wasn't ready

for that in Mississippi.

They shot in the house

15 times thinking

that I was there.



[Barbara] You, my friends,

can help somehow tear down

these walls that divides people

into groups and separates them.

The people of this country,

I ask you,

what about the basic

and fundamental problem

of human understanding,

of a human care

for human beings?

[uplifting music playing]



[Senfronia] There was

an upswing of women

being energized politically.

[Rodney] Most of the more

progressive issues

that Barbara Jordan wanted

to pass were not going to pass

the Texas Senate.

[Barbara] It's not an anti-male

chauvinistic movement.

And I know, men, that there

are some of you

who remain reluctant to embrace

the cause of the equality

of women.

We want to help you.

You need help.

[audience laughs]



[Rosemary] In Texas,

it was not until '73

that a woman

was able to have a credit card

in her name or buy property.

[Ben] Barbara wanted

the Equal Rights.

Constitutional Amendment

for women

to pass and wanted Texas

to be one of the early states

to do it.

[Max] She was able

to reach out to people

on all sides

and pull them together.

[Ben] She got to be the author

of the Equal Rights.

Constitutional Amendment

for women,

one of the first

legislative branches

of any state that passed

in the United States.



[Ruth] Keep in mind

that in the days

when she grew up,

the goal for girls at the time

was to find a marriage

as soon as possible

and to be rescued from

your situation as a woman.

And that meant that, you know,

boys had to like you.

And if they didn't,

well, gee, I mean,

what was wrong with you

and what was going

to happen to you?

[reel whirring]

[uplifting music playing]



[Barbara] One thing

I learned early on

was that you can't work

all the time.

You need people around you

who don't care

about titles or status.

One night

after wrapping up a long day,

some friends invited me out.

That's where I met Nancy Earl.

She worked at the university,

and from the moment

we started talking,

it felt easy.

We played music, sang together,

and just enjoyed the night.

Nancy had this way

of making people feel at ease.

I remember thinking,

"This is something

I'd love to do again."

She enjoyed being

with Nancy Earl.

She finally felt she could relax

and be herself.

[vehicles whooshing by]

[Barbara] SCR number...

-[Man 2] 14.

-[Barbara] 14.

All those in favor of adoption

of the resolution, vote aye.

[Men]

Aye.

[Barbara] Those opposed,

vote no.

Ayes have it.

Resolution is adopted.

[Ben] Barbara was

an independent person

who had an agenda

to represent her district.

[Barbara] Our Urban Affairs

Committee devoted specifically

and entirely to the solutions

of problems of the cities.

I'm frankly very disappointed

in the work

of the Constitutional

Commission.

You don't have

any daycare center here?

So if you can

find someone who can take care

of the two youngest children...

You would be able to work?

[Ben] And she had agenda

way beyond

the borders of Texas.

She wanted to go to Washington.

A group of us found

the empty building,

and we set up the headquarters.

We literally would

stuff envelopes

and lick stamps.

[Rosemary] We spent a lot

of time in the headquarters,

helping in whatever way we could

to boost the campaign for her.

[phone ringing in background]

[indistinct chatter in distance]

[classical music playing]

[applause]

[Mary] Her main opponent

in the Democratic primary

was Curtis Graves.

[Curtis] If you hear

candidates now

talking about law and order,

they don't mean the kind

of law and order that we mean.

We mean law

that isn't necessarily looking

for order as an end result,

but rather law

which is looking for

justice as an end result.

[applause]

[Curtis] I represent

the real Democrats of Texas,

who have always supported

the traditional philosophy

of liberalism.

[Rodney] Curtis Graves had

been a b*mb-throwing,

very progressive,

outspoken member of the House.

And so he had a lot of

links out there

in the black community.

[Curtis] I served

in the Texas legislature

at the same time

that Barbara Jordan did.

I guess she chose not

to be affiliated

with the causes

that I was involved in,

because they were

a little too liberal

for her politics.

Barbara Jordan

looked really good

in terms of this being her time.

He had also still

put in the time.

[Frank] He was a firebrand

who liked

to be confrontational.

He tried to make it look

like Barbara Jordan

was kowtowing

to the old white guys.

[Mary] And well, he started

circulating rumors

that Barbara was g*y.

[Senfronia] Curtis Graves

is a light-light complexion

of African American guy

running against

a dark complexion woman.

[Barbara] The press seldom

presented me

in a favorable light.

[country music playing]



[Barbara] The world had decided

that we were all n*gro,

but some of us were more

n*gro than others.

You went further,

you got the awards

if you were not

Black-Black with kinky hair.

Black was bad.

You didn't want to be Black.

[Barbara] Everything is

on the table

when you're out there

running for public office.

It is a requirement

of the person

who puts themselves out there.

You're going to feel

that kind of pain

that comes

from that kind of scrutiny.

And if you don't want

that kind of scrutiny,

don't seek the office.

[indistinct whispers]

By that time,

Barbara Jordan was able

to have the relationships

with both the black community

and the union community,

which crossed racial lines.

[Barbara] I was trying to get

the hard-nosed,

crusty business establishment

in the city of Houston

to come to the fundraising

rally for me

and endorse my candidacy

for Congress.

Well, they said we might come.

We, I guess.

But then the word got out.

Lyndon Johnson is coming.

Lyndon Johnson came

to the first reception

that we had

at the Rice Hotel in Houston

when Barbara Jordan

was gonna run for Congress.

[Barbara] And of course,

that guaranteed a success

of the rally.

And anybody who thought

they were somebody

came to the Rice Hotel.

[Mary] And of course,

she adored him for that.

[Barbara] Lyndon Johnson

held my hand in both of his

as only he could do and said,

"If ever you need anything

from me, just call."

He looked at her as the future

of the new South.

We gave you Lyndon Johnson

and now we're giving you

Barbara Jordan.

[audience laughs]

[applause]

[Mary] He saw and heard

the potential

and that was a friendship that

lasted until Johnson died.



[Rodney] That picture was

on the front page

of the newspapers

throughout Texas.



Curtis Graves just didn't have

what Barbara Jordan had.

[Ben] Once she was elected,

she moved away

from the liberal wing

and into the Lyndon Johnson

wing of the party

by doing their bidding

in many cases.

And that may have been

a wise decision.

It eventually got her elected

to the Congress

of the United States.

But I promised you

that you would have

a clear, sound, effective,

clarion voice on the floor

of United States House

of Representatives

if you elected me

and I guarantee you,

you have that.

[applauding & cheering]

[Richard Nixon]

I would only hope

that in these next four years,

we can so conduct ourselves

in this country

that years from now,

people will look back

to the generation of the 1970s.

And they will say,

"God bless America."





[Mary] Nancy came

to Washington with Barbara.

When you look back, yes,

it's easy to see

that they were a couple.

They shared a house together,

they shared a life together,

and publicly that was

all there was to it.

Nancy cared for Barbara Jordan,

respected her,

gave her her space.

Nancy understood

that Barbara Jordan's

love and life was politics.

[indistinct chanting]

[Barbara] The civil rights

movement is still alive

and well.

Its methodology

has perhaps changed.

The political arena,

that's where

the black radicals have gone.

[indistinct shouting]

[Ashley] The Congressional

Black Caucus started in 1971.

Black people are in that space

in a way that we never

have been before.

[Jasmine] The difference

in state and federal,

there's a lot more eyes on you.

And cameras rolling.

[indistinct speech]



[Interviewer 1] You've made

history in the Texas Senate

and now being

the first black woman elected

to the US Congress

from the South,

How do you feel about all this?

Well, I'm often asked

whether I feel historical

and I... I really don't.

[Elizabeth] Barbara Jordan

wanted to be on

the House Judiciary Committee.

There were very few women,

but there we were together.

It was a hard slog.

You get there

and all of a sudden,

you're voting on

agricultural appropriations.

Well, I'm from Brooklyn,

I don't know too much

about farming.

But of course,

what I didn't know

was that

when impeachments come up,

the House Judiciary Committee

plays the key role.

[Reporter 1] The Democratic

National Committee

is trying to solve

a spy mystery.

Five intruders were captured

by police

inside the offices of

the committee in Washington.

The five men carried cameras

and apparently, had found

an electronic bug.

Mr. Nixon says empathetically

that the White House

is in no way involved

in the burglary and mugging of

the Democratic headquarters.

You had this

slow drip of information

coming out that was possible

that the president

of the United States

was involved

in bribing burglars

to keep quiet

about a break-in

that affected the election.

And of course, Nixon said

this was completely untrue.

[Richard Nixon] I welcome

this kind of examination,

because people have gotta know

whether or not

their President's a crook.

Well, I'm not a crook.

[Barbara]

There were rumblings

about impeaching the president,

but no serious rumblings.

I had always had

the highest respect possible

for the presidency

and I could not imagine

that I would be engaged

in a process

which could lead to the end

of the presidency.

It was only last week that

the Senate Watergate Committee

learned of the existence

of tape recordings

of President Nixon's

conversations.

The tapes would tell the truth

and Nixon didn't want

the tapes to come out.

This administration has,

I think, gone further

in terms of waiving

executive privilege

than any administration

in my memory.

On the question of impeachment

of the President,

a matter now being examined by

the House Judiciary Committee

is whether

he illegally received...

[Barbara] I not only did a lot

of homework and study,

I lived the impeachment matter.

It was a 24-hour-a-day

engagement.

Could I ask any of you to say

what your own definition

of impeachable offence is?

I have no difficulty

saying that.

I do not feel that

an impeachable offence

has to be an indictable offence.

I do not think it has to be one

which shows criminality...

[Frank] You wouldn't say,

"I'm not a crook",

if you weren't a crook.

That was enough

for the rest of us,

but she needed the facts.

[Barbara] The great disservice

to the country

would be to react emotionally.

Some of my colleagues

on the Judiciary Committee

said, "He's guilty.

I'm ready to vote."

I said, "But I am not.

And I will not be ready

until I have satisfied

my own mind."

That reason, reason tells me

that this process

has to be worked now.

[Elizabeth] The Nixon tapes

were finally released

by the Supreme Court.

One of the tapes showed

that Nixon had ordered

the cover-up from the beginning.

[Barbara] The committee

will view to determine why

the President

of the United States

felt it necessary to spy

on citizens of this country.

Tamper with the evidence.

It's a long list.

[Elizabeth] I felt as though

there was no bottom

to the misconduct,

abuses of power

of Nixon and of his team.

There was so much criminal...

[chuckles]

Let's be honest about it,

criminal stuff going on.

[Brenda] It was three evenings

that the 38 members

of the U.S. House

Judiciary Committee

each had 15 minutes

to say something

about the matter of impeachment.

[Ron] 1970s, we didn't

have social media.

We didn't have

all these distractions.

We actually all

watched the news.

Everybody was glued

to what was happening

in these proceedings.

Barbara was always

a little bit of perfectionist.

She told me that on the way down

to the hearing,

she made some revisions

to the text.

[Barbara] If I can get

into the vernacular,

I had to have my stuff together.

I felt that I was participating

in a very important

historical event.

[Dan] What was at stake?

We were talking about

a widespread

criminal conspiracy led by

the President

of the United States.

And the question was,

"What are we, the people,

going to do about it?"

Barbara Jordan addressed

sharply focused

on the question.

[Chairman] I recognize

the gentle lady from Texas,

Miss Jordan, the purpose

of general debate,

not to exceed a period

of 15 minutes.

-Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

-[Chairman] Miss Jordan.

Earlier today,

we heard the beginning

of the preamble

to the Constitution

of the United States.

We, the people.

It's a very eloquent beginning,

but when that document

was completed

on the 17th of September

in 1787,

I was not included

in that "We, the people."

I felt somehow for many years

that George Washington

and Alexander Hamilton

just left me out by mistake.

But through the process

of amendment,

interpretation,

and court decision,

I have finally been included

in "We the people."

Today I am an inquisitor.

An hyperbole

would not be fictional

and would not overstate

the solemnness

that I feel right now.

My faith in the Constitution

is whole,

it is complete, it is total.

And I am not going to sit here

and be an idle spectator

to the diminution,

the subversion,

the destruction

of the Constitution.

When I watched this Black woman,

so articulate, so engaging,

she becomes me.

She becomes my mother

and grandmother

and every woman that I know

and every African American woman

that was privileged

to be born African American

in this country.

We know

the nature of impeachment.

We've been talking about it

a while now.

It is chiefly designed

for the president

and his high ministers

to somehow be called

into account.

It is designed to bridle

the executive

if he engages in excesses.

It is designed as a method

of national inquest

into the conduct of public men,

framers confided

in the Congress,

the power, if need be,

to remove the president

in order to strike

a delicate balance

between a president swollen

with power

and grown tyrannical

and preservation

of the independence

of the executive.

But impeachment must proceed

within the confines

of the constitutional term,

high crime and misdemeanors.

If the impeachment provision

in the Constitution

of the United States

will not reach

the offenses charged here,

then perhaps

that 18th century Constitution

should be abandoned

to a 20th century

paper shredder.

Barbara Jordan built the case

that we're not doing this.

The framers envisioned this.

And they didn't envision it

for something trivial.

They envisioned it

for something serious.

She essentially walked America

through the Constitution,

the amendments, the debate

over the impeachment articles.

[Sylvia] With Nixon,

it was all about

whether he had violated

the Constitution.

If you're following

the Constitution,

then you're doing

the right thing

and you have parameters.

It is reason and not passion

which must guide

our deliberations,

guide our debate,

and guide our decision.

I yield back the balance

of my time, Mr. Chairman.

I recognize the...

[Dan] Barbara Jordan

was looking the camera

right straight in the eye,

looked down the throat

of the camera, and said,

"America,

this is what's on the table.

This is what we have to decide.

See it clearly.

Have no confusion about it.

"This, my friends,

is what it's about."

No question.

It was an emotional time

because so much was at stake.

-[Chairman] Mr. Seiberling?

-[Seiberling] Aye.

-[Chairman] Mr. Danielson?

-[Danielson] Aye.

-[Chairman] Mr. Drinan?

-[Drinan] Aye.

-[Chairman] Ms. Holtzman?

-Aye.

[Chairman] Mr. Rangel?

Aye.

-[Chairman] Ms. Jordan?

-Aye.

Behind the committee

hearing room,

several of us cried,

absolutely shed tears.

For Richard Nixon, no,

but that the country

had come to this.

The House Judiciary

Committee today

recommended formally

the impeachment

of President Richard Nixon.

[Elizabeth] Republican

leaders, seeing that

the midterm elections

were about to come up,

knew that if Nixon

were going to fight this,

that no Republicans

would have been elected.

Therefore,

I shall resign the presidency,

effective at noon tomorrow.



[Mary] When she left

the Capitol that night,

there were people

waiting outside

as she got in her car to leave.

She couldn't believe it.

And then in the days

following that,

the outpouring.

[Barbara] I'd say I got

maybe a dozen letters

from people

who didn't agree with me.

But you contrast that

to the hundreds

upon hundreds of that,

that did it for me.

It's no small thing

to be socialized

in the state of Texas

as a black woman,

being pushed down

the way she was,

How do you come through that

and then present yourself

to the nation

in such a forceful way?

[d*ck] Any of your

black friends say to you,

"How could you get up there

in front of the country

and say you had faith

in the Constitution

and the law of this country

when you are a descendant

of sl*ves, undoubtedly?

Um, and look what the country

has done to us,

"et cetera, et cetera."

Well, certainly some...

a few will say,

"How can you say that?"

And you're just you're lying

to people.

You can't really

believe that, you said it,

"because it sounds pretty

to feel that way."

Well, d*ck, if and I do believe

in the basic fundamental ideas

on which this country

was founded.

What if I checked out,

checked out on the country,

checked out on the Constitution,

decided it really doesn't

have anything to do

with the inclusion of me

now or ever?

Then what do I do?

Pack up my bags and go to sea?

[Senfronia] I think

for the first time,

she may not have been

looked upon as a black person,

but as an American.

[Dan] Barbara Jordan

became a media personage,

a household name.

Her speaking calendar

booked solid

a year in advance.

The fact that

she's the first this

or the first that

isn't what's kept her

at the top.

It's a keen intelligence,

a voice, a presence.

Let's talk about the mystery

of Barbara Jordan.

Is marriage anything

that comes into your thinking?

Oh, time to time

comes into my thinking.

What do you do when it does?

I look around

and see who's available.

And I usually come up

with a blank.

And so I... and so then

I don't get married.

Would you mind

if it didn't happen?

I don't think

I'd take it to my bed over it.

Um, as a matter of fact,

I think I could survive it.

The press was pretty gentle

about people's sexuality.

Uh, if they didn't come out

of the closet,

I don't remember her

discussing it.

[Senfronia] If Barbara Jordan

was in office

and she had even indicated

that she was a g*y person

and tried to come out,

she would have been ostracized,

first of all,

by the black community.

She would have been

driven out of office.

She would have lost

all her credibility,

all her fame.

It just would have gone

down the drain.

You compound

h*m* and racism.

It is a toxic combination.

[Lisa] She had really good

reasons for keeping

her relationship quiet.

At the same time,

her friends always said,

you know, she never denied it

in personal relationships.

It wasn't a case

of internalized h*m*

that she pretended to the people

that she trusted

that she wasn't g*y.

But it wasn't information

that the public was ready

to hear from someone

who was going

to represent them.



[Mary] Shortly after

the Watergate hearings,

she noticed some changes

in her vision

and some weakness

in her muscles.

So she went in for some tests.

The initial tests came back

as multiple sclerosis.

The type of MS

that Barbara Jordan had,

you'd have an attack

and then remission,

and each attack

would leave a portion

of your body further damaged.

But she kept it secret.

[Rosemary] The family seemed

to have been the last to know

specifically

what the illness was.

She did not discuss it with us.

Neither we noticed

the deterioration

and knew that she was doing

all that was possible

to improve it.

[Mary] So little was known

about the disease

at the time or potential cures.

There was an uncertainty

within her

about her own life

and well-being.

But like so many things

in Barbara's life,

she put it aside,

'cause she was gonna go do

what she was gonna go do.

Right now, I'm just very pleased

that I've won re-election

to represent

the 18th Congressional

District in Congress.

A political office

isn't a destination.

It's a tool.

She was there to do things.

And she had

a very impressive list

of congressional

accomplishments.

She helped shape hundreds

of bills.

Barbara, congratulations.

Thank you, Mr. President.

I watch your commentary.

Do you now?

I hope that uh, they meet

with your approval

-from time to time.

-[laughing]

[Gerald Ford]

From time to time.

From time to time.

In '75, Barbara worked

to ensure that

the Voting Rights Act extension

also included Hispanic groups.

[applause]

[Gerald Ford] The bill

that I will sign today

broadens the provisions

to bar discrimination

against Spanish-speaking

Americans,

American Indians,

Alaskan Natives,

and Asian Americans.

[indistinct chatter]

[Gerald Ford]

There you are.

-[Man 4] Thank you.

-[Gerald Ford] Okay.

-[Man 4] All right.

-Good.

We will be here

seven years from now.

And if the act needs

to be extended again,

we'll do that.

[reel whirring]

[Host 1] Among your detractors,

you're known as having

an impatience with those

not as smart as you

an impatience bordering

on arrogance.

Would you say that's fair?

Oh, I think that's unfair.

It is just my desire

to see things move along

expeditiously without

too many missed steps.

[Dan] The key to moving ahead

has been understanding power.

That includes knowing the rules.

It also includes

guarding her independence,

avoiding labels,

making alliances all right,

but not risking too much

on them.

[Yvonne] She was not

really very active

in the Black Caucus.

She was just overcome

with the responsibilities

of her district.

Blacks are concerned about

heat, hot water, getting jobs,

unemployment, and uh...

[Barbara] The politician

who is Black

will be successful

in the larger arena

when he can show

and demonstrate flexibility

on a broad spectrum of issues

and not be a knee-jerk Black.

I would gamble

that if you would attempt

to ask her,

"What did it mean to you

being a Black American?",

that she'll find some way

of telling you that she was just

an American who happened

to be Black.

[Barbara] There is no law

which says all Black people

who are elected

to Congress must agree

with each other on every point.

[Interviewer 3]

And you don't?

And I don't.

[Interviewer 3]

What about women?

Other women members of Congress?

This is the time

that we will make women

and men share equally

in the greatness

of America.

[Man 5] She told

legislative assistant,

Bob Alcock, of a conversation

she had

with New York's militant

Congresswoman Bella Abzug.

[Barbara] Did you know

that Bella wanted

all the women to sit together

on the floor today

while they considered

the women's rights bill?

No, I didn't know that.

It's very interesting.

[laughing]

And I said

I wouldn't sit with 'em.

So she said, "Well,

they would all come over"

and sit with me."

And I told them I'd move.

[laughing]

She would not call

herself a "feminist",

because it was considered

a white woman's domain.

That is how the National

Organization of Women

were unofficially identified.

And Barbara Jordan was not going

to be pigeonholed.

[Host 2] You've been

criticized from time to time

by both Blacks and women

for not being more a part

of their team.

I think I am contributing

to the work of the team

every time I get out of bed

and go to work.

There's a Black

and there's a woman

on the job doing things,

hopefully beneficial

to the interests of Black people

and of women.

[applause]

The very first man to die

for the w*r of Independence

in this country

was a Black man

named Crispus Attucks.

Crispus Attucks.

[cheering, applauding]

He was a fool.

[audience laughs, cheers]

All but we wanted to prove

what great Americans we were.

We begged the white folk

to let us fight

in the w*r of Independence.

And they had us

fighting the Indians.

Like fools,

we should have teamed up

with the Indians

and take care of you know who.

[cheering, applauding]

[Barbara] I am militant

in my insides.

[Barbara] I know that

there are problems

which Black people face

which must be solved.

And even though

you seethe underneath

and you want to break out

in some kind of a display

of aggressiveness,

the truth of the matter

is that in the back

of your mind, you know,

that in the long run,

that display of aggressiveness

is going to ret*rd the cause

that you're trying to fulfill

or to bring about.

So you suppress, you suppress.

[indistinct chatter]



[Barbara] The last eight

years, we have seen

the employment suffer,

a recession induced

by the combination

of Mr. Nixon and Mr. Ford.

It's time that people found out

that when God put us here,

he said we were equal.

You know, it's time

to start thinking about that.

I, Gerald R. Ford,

do grant a full, free,

and absolute pardon

unto Richard Nixon

for all offenses

against the United States.

[Barbara] For the past

eight years,

Washington, D.C. has been

under a pollution alert,

because of the stench

of republicanism

accompanied

by some other foul odors.

[laughter]

And those other foul odors

may be labeled dishonor,

disgrace, betrayal of trust.

The only way that we are going

to be able to purify the air

is to elect

that rational, compassionate,

depth of intellect man

by the name of Jimmy Carter.

[cheering, whistling]



My name is Jimmy Carter

and I'm running for president.

[Barbara] I made a decision

to help Carter get elected,

because the two terms I served

in Congress,

I had Richard Nixon

and Gerald Ford.

And I thought one experience

that you've got to have

is to serve in Congress

with a democratic president.



I was gonna get a chance

to hear Barbara Jordan speak.

And that was a big deal for her

being the first African-American

speaking there.

[Bob] Ladies and gentlemen.

[applauding, cheering]

[Bob chuckles]

[Bob] Ladies and gentlemen.

[Rodney] When Bob Strauss

introduced her,

he didn't go through

a litany of firsts.

He just said,

"The Honorable Congresswoman.

Barbara Jordan from Houston."

Of Houston, Texas.

[applauding, cheering]

[Barbara] Thank you,

ladies and gentlemen.

144 years ago,

members of the Democratic Party

first met in convention

to select

a presidential candidate.

And our meeting

is a continuation

of that tradition.

But there is something

different about tonight.

There is something special

about tonight.

What is different?

What is special?

I, Barbara Jordan,

am a keynote speaker.

[applauding, cheering]

And my presence here

is one additional bit

of evidence

that the American dream

need not forever be deferred.

[applauding, cheering]

We have a positive vision

of the future

founded on the belief

that the gap

between the promise

and reality of America

can one day be finally closed.

We believe that.

[applause]

Let there be no illusions

about the difficulty

of forming this kind

of a national community.

It's tough, but a spirit

of harmony will survive

in America only if

each of us remembers

when self-interest

and bitterness seem to prevail

that we share a common destiny.

I have confidence

that we can form this kind

of national community.

I am going to close

my speech by quoting

a Republican president.

And I ask you that as you listen

to these words

of Abraham Lincoln,

relate them to the concept

of a national community

in which every last one of us...

participates.

"As I would not be a sl*ve..."

"So I would not be a master."

This...

[applause]

This, this expresses my idea...

of democracy.

Whatever differs

from this to the extent

of the difference is no...

democracy.

Thank you.

[applauding, cheering]





[Dan] After Jimmy Carter was

elected

there was all this speculation

who was gonna be appointed what.

[Mary] Barbara had one spot

she wanted.

She wanted to be

Attorney General

of the United States.

She could do a lot

on the issues she cares about,

anti-discriminating,

voting rights, civil rights.

[Jewell] Was it possible

for Barbara Jordan

to become Attorney General

under Jimmy Carter in 1976?

No.

Society was not prepared.

We were still gathered

around the television set

if a black person

was on television in the '70s.

I don't think that I'm trapped

in representing the 18th

Congressional District

for the rest of my life.

I may want to do something else.

[Paul] One of your colleagues

said Barbara Jordan

has a gothic preoccupation

with power.

Politics, Paul, is about power.

And to say that it's not,

I think, is to deny

the reality of... of politics.

I don't yearn

for power for myself,

but I certainly yearn

for power to get things done

for the people I represent.

Tonight, Carter interviews

Representative Barbara Jordan,

who is in the running

for Attorney General.

Barbara was excited to go

to the meeting with Carter.

[Dan] On her way

into Blair House,

Representative Jordan said

she hadn't the faintest idea

what post she was being

considered for,

but sources said

that it was indeed.

Attorney General.

The Texas congresswoman

left 45 minutes later

before the hour allotted

for the interview had ended.

I personally, as a reporter

covering the story,

thought that President Carter

considered her seriously.



[Elizabeth] He had his guy,

Griffin Bell,

because people

put their guys in.

[Barbara] I felt that the

black and the woman stuff

were just side issues

and that people

were going to ignore that.

Now that was naivet on my part.

[Interviewer 4] You were

reported as being arrogant

in saying that you would

only consider

the cabinet position

of Attorney General.

I suppose I was.

Uh, that is...

I don't know that there

is any sin to be attached

to one being arrogant

if one has a reason

to be arrogant.

I do not apologize.

[Mary] Andrew Young

ultimately got the appointment

as ambassador

to the United Nations.

And there were a number of

key African-American leaders

who also served

in his administration.

But Barbara was not one of them.

We've got to take that risks,

Senator.

In my judgement the 14th

and 15th ammendments

to the constitution

demand that we take that risks

if those provisions

of the constitution

are supposed to mean anything.

Politics is not easy

for a woman.

And that is period,

no semi-colon.

There is a sense still

that woman are not quite up to

the job

when it comes to deciding on

difficult issues

that is perception,

that is not reality.

I shall not seek elective office

in 1978.

I am going to serve out my term.

I trust that there will be

something for me to do

with the rest of my life.

I believe that I uh, I have

a contribution to continue

to make in either the public

or the private sector, but...

I felt that

I had made an impact.

And frankly,

I couldn't think of any way

I could do more

or get the attention

of more people

or command the attention

of more people

or get them to listen

that I had done that

and given the structure

of the body as large

and lumbersome

and cumbersome as it is.

In that setting,

I felt that I had run out

of my strength.

[Rodney] If you think

of that speech

that Barbara Jordan gave

at the Watergate impeachment

proceedings,

that was someone

teaching a lesson.

And then what does she do?

She ends up becoming a teacher.

It's Professor

Barbara Jordan now,

not Congresswoman

Jordan anymore.

Her audience now

is 14 graduate students

at the Lyndon B. Johnson

School

of Public Affairs

at the University of Texas.

Well, we're in new quarters

here today,

and I hope that...

Morning, Dan.

[Dan] Morning.

[Barbara] I want to test

your powers of concentration.

Ignore the lights.

Ignore the camera.

Ignore the star.

And just, that is,

that star, not this one.

[laughing]

[Mary] She loved to challenge

those students.

[Barbara] I no longer have

any interest

in elective office.

I think my future

is in seeing to it

that the next generation

is ready to take over.

[Annise] She had so much reach

into places

that desperately needed

another image of someone.

We went into the A*DS epidemic,

the deaths, and the isolation.

We so much needed

role models, and heroes,

and heroines to step up.

And the question

was posed to her,

why she was so silent

on LGBT issues.

And she said

there are only so many banners

she can carry at one time.

And I understand.

And it still makes me sad today.



A mystery disease known as

the g*y plague

has become

an epidemic unprecedented

in the history

of American medicine.

[Politician] Why haven't

the bathhouses,

whose sole purpose

is to provide a setting

for casual, promiscuous

h*m* sex,

been closed down?

[Ronald Reagan] To add

the A*DS virus

to the list

of contagious diseases

for which immigrants and aliens

can be denied entry.

[audience making noise]

We'll make America great again.

[cheer]

It's like

a jungle sometimes

It makes me wonder

how I keep going under

[crowd chanting]

[Barbara] We have failed.

People who come to power

have been more concerned

with exacerbating our divisions

rather than healing our wounds.

If we are the inclusive society,

the inclusive government

we say we are,

then everybody

ought to have a say.

Freddie, you're buying

into this system.

And you used to be

about something.

I am about something.

I am about studying this system,

understanding it,

so I can change it.

Goodbye, Tracy Chapman.

Hello, Barbara Jordan.

[laughter]

[birds chirping]

[DeAnn] Nancy and she

had designed their house

that they wanted to have

out in the country.

There was this huge public area

for entertaining.

[indistinct chatter]

[Rosemary] She would have

plenty of food

and a lot of group singing.



[Rosemary] And of course,

Barbara would do solos

every now and then.

[Jody] It was just so special.

And the older we got,

the more special it became.

Of course, there was food

and there was fun.

But she started to have

an annual party for the team.



[Mary] One of the pleasures

that Barbara had

as she came back to Austin

was to go support

the Lady Longhorns,

the wonderful women's

basketball team

at the University of Texas.

She became an instant expert.

So uh, she gave a lot

of coaching advice.

I asked her to refrain

from berating the officials.

[Cecile] Barbara would yell

at these young women,

"Can we not sh**t?"

It was like, "Oh my God."

And Barbara never missed a game.

[Ann] Barbara Jordan and I

were good friends

for many years.

We were friends other than being

political friends.

We sat together

at the Lady Longhorn

basketball games

at the University of Texas.

And often times,

you'd be frustrated

with Barbara

because you couldn't get her

to relax.

You know, you couldn't get her

to not be Barbara Jordan.

[laughing]

[Mary] And they like to tell

dirty jokes to each other.

[Ann] I'm delighted to be here

with you this evening,

because after listening

to George Bush

all these years,

I figured you needed to know

what a real Texas accent

sounds like.

[cheering]



[Cecile] When mom

was elected governor,

she was trying

to change state government.

Barbara said, "Yeah, I'm...

I'm there with you."

And Ann appointed Barbara

as her ethics counsel.

I cannot tell you

how intimidating it was

to walk into that room

and be with the voice of God.

And then immediately how warm

and loving she was.

She said, "You can make money

or you can do public service,"

but you're not gonna

intermingle the two."

[Rodney] She pretty much

carved out that niche,

America's ethics advisor.

[Ronald Reagan] It's with

great pleasure

that I today announce

my intention to nominate.

United States Court

of Appeals Judge,

Robert H. Bork,

to be an associate justice

of the Supreme Court.

Robert Bork's America

is a land in which women

would be forced

into back alley ab*rtion.

Blacks would sit

at segregated lunch counters.

Rogue police could break down

citizens' doors

in midnight rage.

And schoolchildren could not

be taught about evolution.

Writers and artists

would be censured

at the whim of government.

You don't get converted

and become...

[Newscaster] Civil rights

leaders who have been

standing in line

to denounce his nomination

today got their chance.

Hearing will come to order.

It's an honor to have you here.

And I would ask you

to raise your right hand

if I may,

Congresswoman, to be sworn.

Do you swear

to tell the whole truth

and nothing but the truth,

so help you God?

I do, Mr. Chairman.

And thank you very much,

Mr. Chairman.

My opposition to this nomination

is really a result

of living 51 years

as a Black American

born in the South

and determined to be heard

by the majority community.

He has disagreed

with the principle

of one person,

one vote many times.

This is what he said.

"I do not think

there is a theoretical basis

for it."

My word.

I'll tell you this much.

There is a common sense...

natural, rational basis

for all votes counting equally.

It will be very dangerous to

have someone sitting

on the supreme court

who doesn't take individual

rights seriously.

[Barbara] The Supreme Court

of the United States

is the last bulwark

of protection

for our freedoms.

[Chairman] Senator Humphrey.

[Humphrey] Which title

do you prefer?

[Barbara] Whichever

is comfortable for you.

[laughs]

You throw it back

every time, don't you?

Um. All right.

Congresswoman Jordan,

was the Senate wrong

in confirming Robert Bork

to the D.C. Circuit

Court of Appeals?

I don't know

whether you were wrong.

You might have been.

[Humphrey] Well,

in your opinion.

I'm asking in your opinion.

[Barbara] I know, I know,

I know what you're asking.

The Senate,

in its collective wisdom,

apparently decided

it was the correct thing

for the Senate to do,

and I would not second guess it.

Well, but really, you're evading

the question outrageously.

First, you accuse Robert Bork

of violating the law...

He did violate the law.

[Humphrey] Very well, then,

in your opinion,

what possible reason

could the Senate have

for confirming unanimously

someone you claim

violated the law?

The Senate maybe felt

that that was not

a serious enough

aberration for them

to deny confirmation.

[Humphrey] Oh, you really

can't be serious.

You can't be serious on that.

Of course, I can be.

[audience chuckles]

I've never seen

you humorous, I must say.

So uh, maybe

this is the first time,

tongue in cheek.

Um, you're very good.

[laughter]

[Humphrey] Professor, I believe

I'll call you, "Professor".

All right.

I could get

a lesser person really

over a barrel.

I can't get you over

that barrel.

Um, let's talk about

another point.

You said something about

you personally saw

the Supreme Court as

the guardian of your rights.

I think here is the nub

of this controversy.

I view the Constitution,

and not judges,

as the guardian of our freedom,

our rights, our liberty.

You're right.

This is the nub of the issue.

[Humphrey] Whew. Got one.

Finally, you're right.

[laughter]

The nub of the issue is this.

Many people,

particularly weak people,

underprivileged, unrepresented,

underrepresented,

minority people,

particularly the outs,

have looked

to the Supreme Court.

[Humphrey] Yes.

As the rescuer.

Mmhmm.

The Supreme Court

will throw out a lifeline

when the legislators,

and the governors,

and the everybody else

refuses to do so.

[Ashley] I think Jordan

can see down the road

how Supreme Court appointments

can not only roll back

some of those measures

that helped catapult her,

but also concerns

about the punitive nature

of lawmaking.

We do not want

to see an articulate

and persuasive voice

on the Supreme Court saying,

"That's not your function."

Congress suffered

when you left us,

but it's a delight

to have you back here today.

[Barbara] Thank you, Senator.

I remember when you were

a member of Congress,

you were one of the most

articulate members

I had the pleasure of serving

on the conference committee

with you,

and I knew you in other ways.

And of course, I differ with you

on this nomination,

but I hope you're getting

along nice in Texas

and enjoying your work

at the Lyndon Johnson

School of Government.

I am.

There's an old uh,

English expression

that says, "Character brings

forth character."

You brought forth in this body,

when you were here,

and hopefully,

in this committee.



There was a long time,

for me, 15 years,

with Barbara

where we didn't know

what was going on

with her health.

[Sylvia] I never heard exactly

what it was.

We were just shocked

when she had a cane,

and then we shocked more

when she had her wheelchair.

I think we all just hoped

that there was nothing wrong.

[DeAnn] Barbara and Nancy

were deeply devoted

to each other.

As Barbara needed more

and more help, physically.

That was a test.

Because any time

a relationship changes

from being partners, friends,

to caretaker,

that was some rough years.

And all of us tried to help.

I watched her becoming

more and more disabled,

but it didn't affect her mind.

She was still blowing

and going and making speeches.

The American dream is not dead.

It is not dead.

It is gasping for breath.

But it is not dead.

[crowd cheering]

The things that I was

part of didn't change.

And not one time ever

did I hear Barbara complain.

There was no self-pity.

[birds chirping]

[laughter]

Barbara Jordan,

the former Congresswoman

and memorable political orator,

died today at the age of 59.

Today, Texas lost a pioneer.

I have this morning asked

that the state flags be lowered

to half-staff

in memory of a great Texan.

Life is not always fair.

And the people who have the most

to contribute, why,

I don't know why,

they are the ones we lose.

[Cicely] My dear Barbara Jordan,

if I were sitting

on a porch across from God,

I would thank him

for sending you to us.

[Ann] Well, Nancy, um,

the truth is

I'd counted on Barbara

preaching my funeral.

She always could make things

sound a lot better

than they were.

[laughter]

[Bill Clinton] Last time

I saw Barbara Jordan

was when Liz Carpenter

talked me into coming

to the University of Texas

to give a speech

on race relations on the day

of the Million Man March.

I was nervous enough as it was.

[audience chuckles]

And I walked out

into that vast arena.

And there were

17,000 people there.

But I could only see one,

Barbara Jordan,

smiling at me.

And there I was

about to give a speech to her

about race and the Constitution.

[audience laughs]

[applause]

It was the nearest experience

on this earth to the pastors

giving a sermon

with God in the audience.

[laughter]

[Bill Clinton]

When Barbara Jordan talked,

we listened.

She took to heart

what her Grandpa Patton

told her when she was

a little girl.

You just trot your own horse

and don't get

into the same rut

as everyone else.

[audience laughs]

Well, she sure trotted

her own horse.

And she made her own path

wide and deep.

[horse neighs]



[DeAnn] Barbara's death

and her wishes

for her death came up

fairly often,

because she wanted

everyone to understand

that she wanted to be buried

on the highest hill

in the state cemetery

next to Stephen F. Austin,

who's the Father of Texas.

So where's Barbara Jordan

buried?

On top of the highest hill

on the corner

of Stephen F. Austin.

And there's only one word

on the backside

of that gravestone.

She wanted to be remembered

as a teacher.

[birds chirping]

[Barbara] I'm a patriot.

And I don't feel that

I need to apologize for that.

I'm not willing

to abandon patriotism

to what is called,

"the right wing".

It sounds so old fashioned

for a representative to say,

I am going to protect

the rights and secure

the liberties

of the American people.

But that's what we're going

to have to become.

Old fashioned watchdogs

of the civil liberties

of American citizens.





[Student 1] Growing up

in Houston, Texas,

I feel like I've always known

the name.

I found more about her

once I joined

the Texas Southern University

debate team.

[Student 2] Her voice,

the way she speak,

her speeches are something

you can get drawn into.

It's kind of like hearing

the voice of God speaking.

"Earlier today,

we heard the beginning"

of the preamble

to the Constitution

of the United States.

-We, the people."

-"We, the people."

"We, the people."

[Student 4] "It's a very

eloquent beginning.

But when that document

was completed

"on the 17th of September

in 1787..."

"I was not included

in that 'We, the people.'"

"I felt somehow for many years"

that George Washington

and Alexander Hamilton

"had just left me out

by mistake."

"But through

the process of amendment,

interpretation,

and court decision..."

"I have finally

been included..."

"I have finally

been included..."

"I have finally

been included..."

"In, 'We, the people.'"

"Today,

I am an inquisitor."

"Today,

I am an inquisitor."

"Today,

I'm an inquisitor."

-"Today..."

-"Today..."

-"Today..."

-"Today..."

"I am an Inquisitor."

"I am an Inquisitor."

"I am an Inquisitor."

"Today,

I am an Inquisitor."



[Announcer] We thank you

for joining us as we dedicate

the first building

in the Texas Capitol Complex

to bear the name

of a black woman,

Barbara Jordan.

[cheering, applauding]

We rise above the sorrow

We find a way

to shine in the dark

We're the heartbeat

of tomorrow

No mistaken identity

We know who we are

Our voices echo

like thunder

As we break the chains

You can't hurt us anymore

We've gotten

used to the pain

And when we stand,

we're unstoppable

When we stand,

nothing's impossible

When we stand, strength

in numbers amplified

Side by side,

shoulder to shoulder

Hand in hand

when we stand

The songs of freedom

we're singing

Wooh

Words that will show us

the way back home

And when it's us

we believe in

We believe

No matter what they say,

you will never walk alone

Our voices echo

like thunder

As we break the chains

You can't hurt us anymore

We've gotten used

to the pain

And when we stand,

we're unstoppable

When we stand,

nothing's impossible

When we stand, strength

in numbers amplified

Side by side,

shoulder to shoulder

Hand in hand

when we

Stand up

There's no mountain

we can't climb

Stand up

Long as we stand together,

we'll be fine

Stand up

We can make the world

a better place

Like nothing and nobody

Nobody

Coming between us

Oh

Stand up till they see us

When we stand

Oh, we're unstoppable

When we stand

Oh, we can do

the impossible

When we stand, strength

in numbers amplified

Side by side,

shoulder to shoulder

Hand in hand

When we stand

Ooh

When we,

when we stand

When we, when we,

when we, when we

When we, when we

When we stand

Ooh