Barbara Jordan: Black Lesbian Democrat

Okay, I admit it. I've been a Democratic National Convention junkie. For the past three days, I've sat in front of the TV watching speeches, balloons drop, war heroes parading across the stage and lots of people dressed in outrageous outfits of red, white and blue. In between live speeches, they've shown snippets of statements from politicians past: everyone one from JFK to Jimmy Carter. One of those speeches was from Barbara Jordan. Jordan has the distinction of being the first of many things. She was the first African American to serve in the Texas Senate, the first African American to lead a legislative body and the first woman to deliver a keynote address at a National Convention. Read Barbara Jordan's historic 1976 keynote address here.