Houston, TX. June 4, 2015 – Texas Southern University presented a historic event with former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton by bestowing on her the first Barbara Jordan Inaugural Gold Medallion for PublicPrivate Leadership Award.
The event was hosted by the Barbara Jordan Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs, Barbara Jordan Institute for Policy Research, The Thurgood Marshall School of Law, The Barbara Jordan Inaugural Gold Medallion Committee, and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.
Allan and Linda Jamail of Jacinto City were on the Barbara Jordan Inaugural Gold Medallion Committee who helped plan the event.
Before entering the building, each of the four thousand plus attendees had to go through the Secret Service’s security process of metal detectors and bomb sniffing dogs, Allan Jamail said.
Clinton, the former first lady and wife of President Bill Clinton, is an announced presidential candidate seeking the nomination of the Democratic Party.
According to Allan Jamail this was to be a nonpartisan event, not a campaign event, and Secretary Hillary Clinton, after receiving the award, was to give a Policy Speech on Voting Rights. However, Jamail says Clinton, after praising the late Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, a former TSU student, then fired up her speech and went into an attack mode, blaming some of her Republican rivals for the new laws that are making it more difficult for minorities and college students to register and to vote.
She called for universal and automatic voter registration for all citizens reaching the age of 18, and a 20-day (or more) period of early voting in every state, before every election. Clinton’s speech identified the work of protecting and expanding voting rights as a critical part of her campaign.
Clinton talked about the fact that African Americans consistently rank among the most deeply affected by the contours of Voter ID laws, must wait in the longest lines on Election Day ,and cast ballots at polling sites that very often house fewer machines and poll workers than other sites. Clinton told the crowd, “That is no accident.” She asked, “What is it they’re worried about in making it easier for all citizens to vote?”
TSU President Dr. John M. Rudley stated, “The award, like Barbara Jordan, focuses not on status, but measurable accomplishments on the national and even international stages.”
TSU Law School Dean Dannye Holley said, “Awarding the first Medallion that bears Barbara Jordan’s name to Hillary Clinton is fitting because this award is geared towards recognizing the life time contributions that an American woman has made to our national public life.”
The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton was selected as the inaugural recipient of this prestigious award because of her many works in her role as First Lady, United States Senator, and as Secretary of State. Her courage and determination as a young woman fighting for early child care and children’s health care, to her work as a seasoned public servant fighting for human rights for girls and women around the world and her service to the most vulnerable in our society makes her deserving of the distinction in receiving the inaugural award.
Crystal Owens, incoming Student Government Association President, said, “The Honorable Hillary Clinton is a beacon to inspire young women like myself, who are already in leadership roles, and those who aspire to become leaders. She inspires us to press on, and speak out with courage.”
The Barbara Jordan Medallion Award will be an annual award and will be bestowed on a deserving woman anywhere in the world who shall have made the highest achievement during the preceding year or years in any honorable field of human endeavor in the public or private sector.
Contributions for this annual event can be made to the Barbara Jordan endowment fund through the Texas Southern University Foundation. The University’s designated (501.c.3) tax exemption can be used. TSU contact person is LaRence B. Snowden, Assistant Dean, Student Programs & External Affairs, (713) 313-6844.