Barbara Jordan quotes - page 2

Barbara Jordan was an influential American politician and civil rights leader from Texas. Renowned for her powerful oratory, she played a key role in the Watergate hearings and championed social justice causes. She broke barriers as the first Southern African-American woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Here are 51 of her quotes:

Let's all understand that these guiding principles cannot be discarded for short-term political gains. They represent what this country is all about. They are indigenous to the American idea. And these are principles which are not negotiable. (Barbara Jordan)

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.

Barbara Jordan

I think it no accident that most of those emigrating to America in the 19th century identified with the Democratic Party. We are a heterogeneous party made up of Americans of diverse backgrounds.

Barbara Jordan

The citizens of America expect more. They deserve and they want more than a recital of problems.

Barbara Jordan

Our concept of governing is derived from our view of people. It is a concept deeply rooted in a set of beliefs firmly etched in the national conscience, of all of us.

Barbara Jordan

Throughout out history, when people have looked for new ways to solve their problems, and to uphold the principles of this nation, many times they have turned to political parties. They have often turned to the Democratic Party.

Barbara Jordan

Even as I stand here and admit that we have made mistakes I still believe that as the people of America sit in judgment on each party, they will recognize that our mistakes were mistakes of the heart. They'll recognize that.

Barbara Jordan

Let us heed the voice of the people and recognize their common sense. If we do not, we not only blaspheme our political heritage, we ignore the common ties that bind all Americans.

Barbara Jordan

I have confidence that we can form this kind of national community.

Barbara Jordan

We are a people trying not only to solve the problems of the present: unemployment, inflation... but we are attempting on a larger scale to fulfill the promise of America.

Barbara Jordan

In other times, I could stand here and give this kind of exposition on the beliefs of the Democratic Party and that would be enough. But today that is not enough. People want more. (Barbara Jordan)

Life is too large to hang out a sign: "For Men Only."

Barbara Jordan

I never intended to become a run-of-the-mill person.

Barbara Jordan

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."

Barbara Jordan

My faith in the Constitution is whole; it is complete; it is total. I am not going to sit here and be an idle spectator to the diminution, the subversion, the destruction of the Constitution.

Barbara Jordan

A spirit of harmony will survive in America only if each of us remembers that we share a common destiny; if each of us remembers, when bitterness and self-interest seem to prevail, that we share a common destiny.

Barbara Jordan

Earlier today we heard the beginning of the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States. ‘We the people.' It is a very eloquent beginning. But, when that document was completed on the seventeenth 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.

Barbara Jordan

You need a core inside you-a core that directs everything you do. You confer with it for guidance. It is not negotiable.

Barbara Jordan

Those who hold the public trust must adhere to the highest ethical standards there are. The job requires it, and the public must demand it.

Barbara Jordan

It was immigration that taught us, it does not matter where you came from, or who your parents were. What counts is who you are.

Barbara Jordan

This country can ill afford to continue to function using less than half of its human resources, less than half its kinetic energy, less than half its brain power. (Barbara Jordan)

For all of its uncertainty, we cannot flee the future.

Barbara Jordan

We have made mistakes. In our haste to do all things for all people, we did not foresee the full consequences of our actions. And when the people raised their voices, we didn't hear. But our deafness was only a temporary condition, and not an irreversible condition.

Barbara Jordan

All my growth and development led me to believe that if you really do the right thing, and if you play by the rules, and if you've got good enough, solid judgment and common sense, that you're going to be able to do whatever you want to do with your life.

Barbara Jordan

If you had to work in the environment of Washington, D. C., as I do, and watch those men who are so imprisoned and so confined by their eighteenth-century thought patterns, you would know that if anybody is going to be liberated, it's men who must be liberated in this country.

Barbara Jordan

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Barbara Jordan

Barbara Jordan - Image

Occupation: American Politician
Born: February 21, 1936
Died: January 17, 1996
Quotes count: 51

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