Barbara Jordan was a gifted orator, skilled politician, and charismatic woman that spent her career helping Texas and the Austin community. Jordan showed that one person can be an influential voice, even against the most powerful people. She was not only influential but also exemplary for most people that knew her, or even heard of her accomplishments. She prospered against racial boundaries and even her own physical disability. Jordan's influence to the Austin community was displayed in how she empowered minorities, inspired Austinites to succeed, and broke boundaries of racial discrimination throughout her lifetime.

             Jordan will forever be remembered as a person who made a difference by making it possible for others to be heard. She once conveyed her feelings of racial inequality when she commented on the preamble to the constitution. She said, "We the people is a very eloquent beginning, but when the document was completed on the 17th of September in 1787, I was not included in that we the people" (Quotations 1). Jordan spent her long successful working so she, as well as other minority citizens, could become part of "we the people." With her talent as an orator and position in the Senate, Jordan worked to bring equality to a nation where minorities aren't always given a fair chance. Melissa Maxwell, one of her students in Austin, commented about what a hero Jordan was by saying that "she made it possible to think that you could make a difference" (Mourners 2). Through her success against substantial obstacles, Barbara displayed that a strong person with ambition could accomplish their goals. Her success showed many minorities that they could have the most prestigious occupations. In 1975 she continued to help minorities make a difference by the Voting Rights Act to include groups, such as Mexican-Americans. Even though many Texas politicians, like the Governor and Secretary of State, openly denounced her proposal, she was successful.