Generations of Pride - Texas Southern University

advocates who championed the cause of changein order to achieve the moral ideals expressed in ournation’s Declaration of Independence.In her opening statement to the United StatesCongress House Judiciary Committee’s hearingon the Impeachment of President Richard Nixon,Congresswoman Jordanstated:Earlier today, we heard thebeginning of the Preamble tothe Constitution of the UnitedStates. “We, the people...” Itis a very eloquent beginning.But when that documentwas completed on the 17thof September in 1787, I wasnot included in that “We,the people.” I fl et somehowfor many years that GeorgeWashington and AlexanderHamilton just left me out bymistake. But through theprocess of amendment,interpretation, and court decision, I have fi nallybeen included in “We, the people.”“For all of itsuncertainty, wecan not flee thefuture….Wemust address andmaster the futuretogether.”Barbara C. JordanThe Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School ofPublic Affairs is the inheritor of a legacy that weare committed to building on and expanding. Weunderstand and accept ourhistoric responsibility to bechange agents of the statusquo.In her Keynote Address tothe 1976 Democratic NationalConvention, CongresswomanJordan asked, “Who thenwill speak for the commongood?”.The Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of PublicAffairs will use our academicinfrastructure and expertise to educate a newgeneration committed to addressing the myriadpublic policy challenges confronting the urban areasof Texas, our nation and those around the world aswe continue to move through this new century.For the fi rst time in human history, a majority ofhumanity lives in urban areas around the world.The 21 st Century will be a century of CHANGE.Like those for whom we are named, the BarbaraJordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs will“[W]ithout a senseof history, thereis no basis forcomparison.”Robert J. TerryPresident, Texas Southern University(1986-1987)have a global reach. We will be an academicinstitution of Urban and Global Affairs that developsand expands intellectual capacity and capital.To quote Congressman Mickey Leland, we will be“activist[s] on behalf of humanity everywhere….”As we reach out to the world, we will also reachout to those closest to us. Wewill make our local communityand communities throughout ourstate and around the world ourclassroom. We will take whatwe learn from working in theliving labatories of communitybased classrooms and use thoseexperiences as templates forpublic policy proposals thatadvance positive change. Wewill connect the theoretical to thepractical.The Barbara Jordan-MickeyLeland School of Public Affairs willwork with community stakeholdersto help strengthen, empower andrevitalize urban areas using the expertise, energyand advocacy of our faculty and students.In light of the legacy of Barbara Jordan andMickey Leland, the history of our nation, themotivation for the Civil Rights Movement, TexasSouthern University’s designation as a specialpurpose urban institution ofhigher education, the university’scommitment to Opening Doorsand “Excellence In Achievement,”the Barbara Jordan-MickeyLeland School of Public Affairswill be a community connectedinstitution of urban and globalaffairs committed to helping tobuild just and fair societies thatare tolerant, inclusive, safe, clean,and sustainable.The Barbara Jordan-MickeyLeland School of Public Affairs will educate individualswho will speak for the “common good.”Carroll G. Robinson, Esq. is associate dean of ExternalAffairs and an assistant professor at the BarbaraJordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs.Dr. Theophilus Herrington is interim dean and aProfessor at BJ-ML SOPA.Generations of Pride • Spring 2006 25