 "Photo: Labudde Special Collections")
Some men and women are history makers. Leon M. Jordan and his wife certainly fall into that category.
Jordan was born in Kansas City in 1905, attended Lincoln High School and graduated from Wilberforce University in Ohio in 1933.
Five years later, he joined the Kansas City Police Department. He served 16 years and became the first African- American to become a Lieutenant.
In 1947, he was granted a leave of absence and lived eight years in Liberia, training its police force while his wife, Orchid, played a vital role in establishing the records bureau of the Liberian police department.
The couple was frequently invited as guests of Liberian President William V. S. Tubman.
In the mid-1950s, Jordan and his wife returned to the states and he decided to pursue a political career.
In 1962, Jordan and political colleague Bruce Watkins founded Freedom, Inc., a local organization that promoted voter awareness in the black community and groomed African- American candidates for political office. In 1964, Jordan won a seat in the Missouri House of Representatives.
On July 15, 1970, Jordan was shot and killed in the early morning hours as he left the Green Duck Tavern, a business operated at 2548 Prospect Ave. At the time, he was seeking his fourth term in the Missouri General Assembly.
His wife took up the campaign, won the seat and served 16 years in the state legislature.
The LaBudde Special Collections Department at the Miller Nichols Library houses the Leon M. Jordan Collection, which is comprised of photos, documents and other items belonging to the couple.
The content ranges in date from the 1910s to the 1980s.
A large portion of the collection is photos from Liberia like the one featured here of Africans in native costume.
For more information about the collection, visit the LaBudde Special Collections Department or go online to http://library.umkc.edu/spec-col-collections/jordan.
alang@unews.com
