This life-sized bronze sculpture commemorates Barbara Jordan (1936-1996), professor at the University of Texas LBJ School of Public Affairs and a leader of the Civil Rights movement. She was the first African American elected to the Texas Senate after Reconstruction and the first southern black woman elected to the U.S. Congress. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, among numerous other honors. This work was commissioned for the airport`s Barbara Jordan Terminal, named in her honor.