March 3, 2021 | BY AAGD STAFF
Civil rights leader Vernon Jordan died peacefully at his home on Monday evening, surrounded by family according to reports. The cause of death was not immediately released. Ann Walker, Jordan’s niece, confirmed the death to CNN. According to Walker, Jordan had his favorite dinner and dessert — chocolate chip ice cream — before he went to bed.”It was just the way he would have wanted it,” Walker told CNN.
Jordan, a former president of the National Urban League, was active during his lifetime in many aspects of civil rights and became a national figure, with close connections politically and highly sought out for his advice by U.S. presidents including Lyndon Johnson and Barack Obama.
Jordan engaged with Democrats and Republicans and worked with Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. President Bill Clinton said in a statement from his office that was provided to CNN on Tuesday about his friend, “brought his big brain and strong heart to everything and everybody he touched” and “who made them better.”
Clinton’s statement continued, “He was never too busy to give good advice and encouragement to young people. And he never gave up on his friends or his country….He was a wonderful friend to Hillary, Chelsea, and me, in good times and bad. We worked and played, laughed and cried, won and lost together. We loved him very much and always will.”
Jordan was born on August 15, 1935, and grew up in the segregated South. In 1957 he graduated from DePauw University in Indiana and was the only Black student in his class. After college, he attended Howard University where he studied law and began what would become a long career fighting against segregation. He brought a lawsuit against University of Georgia‘s (UGA) integration policy in 1961 on the behalf of two Black students, Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter. A true activist, that year Jordan accompanied the two students to the UGA admissions office surrounded by an angry mob of white students.
Jordan worked diligently as a field director for the NAACP and held the position of Director of the Southern Regional Council for the Voter Education Project prior to becoming president of the National Urban League.
An imminent target of white supremacists, Jordan was under constant threat and harassment. In May 1980, at age 44, he barely survived an assassination attempt on his life when he was shot in the back in the early morning, moments after emerging from a car at the Marriott Inn in Washington, DC.
“Today, the world lost an influential figure in the fight for civil rights and American politics, Vernon Jordan. An icon to the world and a lifelong friend to the NAACP, his contribution to moving our society toward justice is unparalleled,” NAACP President Derrick Johnson said in a statement on Tuesday.”
In 2001, Jordan received the NAACP’s Spingarn Medal for a lifetime of social justice activism. His exemplary life will shine as a guiding light for all that seek truth and justice for all people.”
The most prominent and outspoken Black leaders in the country, Jordan’s closest political friendship was with Bill and Hillary Clinton. He first met the couple during a trip to Little Rock, Arkansas, when he was leading the Urban league and Clinton was Arkansas attorney journal. The friendship that would last for the rest of his life had begun.
In 1992, Jordan interacted as a close adviser with the then-Arkansas governor Bill Clinton serving as Chairman of his presidential campaign. Jordan continued to remain close with the Clintons over the next several decades and he endorsed both of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaigns.
It was in the late ’90s when Jordan found himself entangled with Clinton in the then-independent counsel Kenneth Starr’s investigation. It was a difficult time and the investigation uncovered the affair Clinton had with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky while in office. Jordan was found to be responsible for helping Lewinsky job hunt after the scandal, at the request of Clinton’s personal secretary, and, had also recommended an attorney who briefly represented her. During the ordeal, Jordan testified several times before the grand jury
Jordan enjoyed a magnificent corporate career, serving on several boards of major American corporations.
In a statement on Tuesday, DePauw University’s president, Lori S. White, mourned the passing of Jordan, saying the University “has lost a dear friend and the world has lost a determined leader….He spoke loudly — through words and deeds — as a civil rights activist and quietly as a trusted counsel to presidents,” White said. “DePauw is better for having had him as a beloved alumnus, and the country and the world are better for having him as a leader.
“In a tweet Tuesday morning, Obama, said he and former first lady Michelle Obama “benefited from Vernon Jordan’s wise counsel and warm friendship—and deeply admired his tireless fight for civil rights.” “We hope the memory of his extraordinary presence and the legacy of his work bring comfort to Ann, Vickee, and his family.”
