Viola Davis To Star As Barbara Jordan
Viola Davis lost (was robbed of!) an Oscar to someone playing a pioneering female political figure. So what has Miss Viola announced as her new project? A movie in which she plays a pioneering political figure: Barbara Jordan (pictured), who was the first African-American elected to the Texas Senate and the first Southern black female elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Davis will produce the picture with her husband, Julius Tennon (pictured with Davis) and Paris Barclay will direct. Barclay is openly gay, and the book on which the movie will be based — “Barbara Jordan: American Hero,” by Mary-Beth Rogers — did not say that Jordan was definitely lesbian. Let me tell you something: Jordan’s partner of nearly 30 years was Nancy Earl. Biographers may not have photos of the two of them embracing in bed but anyone who thinks that Jordan’s primary emotional orientation was not toward Nancy Earl is a big fat fool. Sexual orientation is not just about having sex; it’s about where your feelings are directed. No question about where Jordan’s were.
