Black History Month–February 18–#BHM2011–Barbara Jordan

This is installment 18 in the Black History Month series. This series contains inspirational quotes from Black Americans that are good for all people. While some friends will want me to use “African American History Month”, I will use the traditional name to identify it with American born and raised leaders.

The blog post is to give a little background, while my twitter @davetravis – will get regular updates of the posts.

The first week’s theme was historical figures, last week, Civil Right’s Leaders. This week we get more contemporary. I call this week – Entertainer and politics week.

Today’s twitter for #BHM2011:

“Do not call for black power or green power. Call for brain power.” Barbara Jordan

Most of my friends know that I spend lots of time in Texas where I have an office in Dallas. Jordan was a trailblazer in that state. She was the first elected African American to the Texas State Senate and then became a US Congressperson. After retirement she was a professor at the University of Texas at Austin.

My bonus quote for the day:

“Let there be no illusions about the difficulty of forming this kind of a national community. It's tough, difficult, not easy. But a spirit of harmony will survive in America only if each of us remembers that we share a common destiny.”