Vernon Jordan Memorial Page 1

Marc Morial / National Urban League March 2021

To President and Mrs. Clinton, Vice President

Harris.

To Ann, and Vicky, and the extended Jordan Clan.

To my friends Janice, Mercer, and Tony.

I am honored to be here today. And I’m here today

on behalf of my late father and mother, who admired,

loved, and worked with Vernon Jordan in the 1960s. And

it is through them that, at 16 years of age, I met this

impressive, this powerful, this authentically Black man.

And I’m here on behalf of my wife and children. My

wife who’s covered Vernon on behalf of CBS. My children

who know Vernon as the guy with the big house on Martha’s

Vineyard.

But I’m here today to bring the prayers of the Urban

League family, the National Urban League. Because Vernon

Jordan served as our fifth president in the challenging

days of the 1970s. And from all across the nation over

the last several days we’ve heard from men and women,

young and old, who Vernon’s leadership touched, and I’m

here today to represent each and every one of them.

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Marc Morial / National Urban League March 2021

John Lewis, C. T. Vivian, Hank Aaron, Cicely Tyson,

and now Vernon Jordan have been called to traverse the

stairway to heaven. And why do we love Vernon Jordan so

much? Because he was bold, he was blunt, he was funny,

he was smart. He was wise, he was authentically Black,

and he could cuss.

[LAUGHTER]

But he cussed with melody, with harmony, and with

rhythm. That’s the Vernon we know, and the Vernon we

love.

But as we love Vernon, how should we remember Vernon

Jordan? His wonderful, and powerful accomplishments,

from Civil Rights to the board rooms, from K Street to

Wall Street. We can remember his 80+ honorary degrees.

But I think what we have heard today is that we should

remember Vernon Jordan as a man for others. A man who

dedicated his life, in many ways. He was a man for

others in 1961 when he walked those two students into a

previously segregated University of Georgia. He was a

man for others when he steered the voting – the voter

education project, the United Negro College Fund, and

became president of the National Urban League, all before

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Marc Morial / National Urban League March 2021

he reached the age of 35. And as a man for others at the

National Urban League, he took us to the pinnacle in work

force, in job training.

He created the State of Black America report when he

heard President Ford give his State of the Union address,

and Senator Edmund Muskie, the Democratic response, and

never once – never once mentioned urban America, or Black

America, or poverty, or civil rights. And Vernon’s exact

words, excuse me in the presence of the Lord, was “I’ll

create my own damn report.” And the State of Black

America was born.

As president of the National Urban League he ushered

in a new generation of activist leaders at the local

level, and his influence remains with us today.

But he wasn’t done. He wasn’t done. He continued

to be a man for others, as he joined the prestigious law

firm, as he joined the Lazard Investment banking firm.

And as you’ve heard from Ursula and Ken and Ms.

Coopersmith, everywhere he went, he was unselfish in

giving of his time, his energy, and his wisdom. A man

for others. And everywhere he went, while he may have

been the first, he didn’t go there alone. And he may

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Marc Morial / National Urban League March 2021

have been the one that opened the door, but he made sure

it didn’t close behind him, so that successive

generations of so many of us could walk through those

doors.

Vernon Jordan must be remembered, for yes, being

that celebrity, for yes, being that beautiful man, for

yes, being that witty person, for yes, being that

brilliant advisor. But he must be remembered as a man

for others. And as a man for others – as a man for

others, his wisdom, his wit, is now imbued in each and

every one of us. He would say, “My dear friends, don’t

mourn me, celebrate my life.” He would say, “My dear

friends, make sure you carry on.”

So today I stand here to say, Vernon, our friend,

our mentor, our brother, our leader, our king, may you

rest in peace, and rest in power.

[MUSIC & SINGING “AMAZING GRACE”]

[RECORDING ENDS AT 7:24]