Katie Anderson shares the impact Barbara Jordan patriotism has had on her.
“Barbara Jordan was the first Black woman elected to the Texas state senate and the first Black Texan in Congress. But all of that happened when I was a child, and was not known to me at the time. I knew her as a powerful presence in Austin, Texas as a professor at the Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas. As an undergraduate member of the Longhorn Band (LHB), I was able to volunteer to play at numerous events in and around central Texas (like marching in Fiesta Flambeau parade in San Antonio and playing “The Yellow Rose of Texas” at Wurstfest in New Braunfels). While those celebrations were exciting and fun, the most moving commemoration I attended with LHB was the opening of a tax compliance office in Austin. Barbara Jordan spoke from her wheelchair, never speaking about her struggle with multiple sclerosis, and moved me by her emphatic delivery and patriotic beliefs about our duties as Americans. Speaking with pride about the numerous liberties and freedoms we have in our country, her voice still echoes in my mind and fills me with gratitude for our civil liberties. As an attorney who represents governmental entities who must not infringe on citizens’ rights, I am impacted by Barbara Jordan’s legacy of patriotism and pride in my country.”
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