Rediscovering Barbara Jordan

This program, orginally produced in 2006, is a one-hour documentary about the life and legacy of Barbara Jordan, the first black woman from the South to serve in the U.S. Congress. "Rediscovering Barbara Jordan" features interviews with many of Jordan's colleagues and contemporaries, including Ben Barnes, former Lt. Governor of Texas; Bill Clinton, former President of the United States; John Doar, Special Counsel for the House Judiciary Committee during Watergate; Dan Rather, former anchor of CBS News; Bob Woodward, The Washington Post; and Ann Richards, former Governor of Texas. Born in the Fifth Ward of Houston during the days of segregation, Jordan leapt to national prominence as a freshman member of the House Judiciary Committee during the national crisis known as Watergate. At the height of television?s prime time, she delivered a speech that resonated with the whole nation. Jordan?s historic comments began with reference to slavery, and her role as presidential inquisitor. With her words, ?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,? it soon became apparent that President Nixon would resign. Within two weeks, he did. It's been more than 10 years since Jordan's death. In this special report, her thoughts, the events that shaped her and the deeds that assured her place in American history, are re-told through her speeches, personal interviews and recorded conversations with her. Many of her friends and contemporaries help tell her story.