The passenger terminal at ABIA (Austin Bergstrom International Airport) is named for one of Texas' statespersons, Barbara Jordan. She was from Houston and represented that area in the Texas Senate and in the U.S. House of Representatives. She gave a famous, moving keynote speech at the 1976 Democratic Convention. I have labeled this entry with my 'iconic Austinites' label because Barbara moved here after retiring from politics due to illness. She taught at the LBJ school of affairs and became increasingly hobbled by illness. (During the time we saw her around Austin I never knew what her devastating illness was, but my WEB research indicates she suffered from MS and Leukemia.) I really believe that if she had not become ill, she would have made the U.S. grapple with our discrimination against women and blacks in a profound way. I didn't agree with all her political stands but I thought Barbara as President was a wonderful dream because she was honest, driven and knew how to move people. Fact is, she would have broken a third barrier, too. She was a Lesbian. In acknowledging what day it is, I thought that there could be no better photo than a great woman's statue at an airport.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Barbara Watches Your Baggage
The passenger terminal at ABIA (Austin Bergstrom International Airport) is named for one of Texas' statespersons, Barbara Jordan. She was from Houston and represented that area in the Texas Senate and in the U.S. House of Representatives. She gave a famous, moving keynote speech at the 1976 Democratic Convention. I have labeled this entry with my 'iconic Austinites' label because Barbara moved here after retiring from politics due to illness. She taught at the LBJ school of affairs and became increasingly hobbled by illness. (During the time we saw her around Austin I never knew what her devastating illness was, but my WEB research indicates she suffered from MS and Leukemia.) I really believe that if she had not become ill, she would have made the U.S. grapple with our discrimination against women and blacks in a profound way. I didn't agree with all her political stands but I thought Barbara as President was a wonderful dream because she was honest, driven and knew how to move people. Fact is, she would have broken a third barrier, too. She was a Lesbian. In acknowledging what day it is, I thought that there could be no better photo than a great woman's statue at an airport.
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whatever the story it is such a lovely statue.
ReplyDeleteIt is a revealing post. Very interesting.
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