Monuments and memory intertwined this week as Houston paid homage to one of its most venerated daughters, Barbara Jordan—a civil rights icon and trailblazing legislator whose legacy now stands solidified in bronze and stone in the city that reared her. The "I Am Barbara Jordan" monument, which features the congresswoman pensively seated and facing southward, her hand stretched out as if reaching into the future she helped shape, was unveiled at POST Houston, a place pulsating with the city's culinary and cultural beats, reports the Houston Chronicle. Artist Angelbert Metoyer, whose task it was to transmute Jordan's spirit into art, said, "She represents a source of inspiration and a guide," a sentiment echoed by the throngs of attendees basking in her bronze glow.
But even before this momentous Saturday gathering, a companion piece to the POST Houston tribute, "The Meditative Space," found its home at the African American History Research Center at the Gregory School, the historian-laden soil of Houston's Fourth Ward, declared KIAH, adding to a cityscape increasingly reflective of its multifaceted narrative. Houston’s Mayor Sylvester Turner, not one to mince words, declared at the ceremony, "It doesn't come easy, it doesn't come without hard work, it doesn't come without sacrifice, it doesn't come without criticism, but you stand anyway because that's what Barbara Jordan would do," a charge to continue her empowering ethos. The munificent tributes mark dual testimonies to a hometown heroine who shattered racial and gender barriers, both as the first African American woman elected to the Texas senate and as the pioneering Southern black woman voice in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Notable words were plenty as local politicians, including Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis and U.S. Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee and Al Green took the stage to impart their tributes, with Jackson Lee in the spotlight for the city's upcoming mayoral runoff election, stirring a confluence of past and present political fervor. The ceremonies were also graced by the poetic offerings of Houston Poet Laureate Emanuelee Bean, known as "Outspoken Bean," who delivered lines crafted in the honoree's memory. "It's an outstanding tribute," said Jordan’s sister, Rose Mary McGowan, in a statement obtained by the Houston Chronicle, her words underscoring the profundity of the occasions.
Beyond the ceremonies, the monolith serves as a continuing conversation with Metoyer and POST Houston managing director Kirby Liu joining thought leaders like Texas Southern’s museum director and curator, Alvia Wardlaw, they mused over the design and the deep symbolism ingrained within the statue, wherein bricks from the old Barbara Jordan Post Office were repurposed to support the very image of Jordan, infusing history directly into the foundation of her tribute—a tribute that, according to Liu, "builds bridges across time," ensuring the story of Barbara Jordan illuminates the path long after the marble and speeches have settled, as detailed by the Houston Chronicle.
