- Welcome to Independent Lens.
I'm Pete Schwaba, host of PBS Wisconsin's Director's Cut.
Tonight, we bring you the story
of a trailblazing, tenacious idealist
and a relentless activist, who once said,
"My faith in the constitution is whole;
"it is complete; it is total.
"And I am not going to sit here and be an idle spectator
"to the diminution, the subversion,
the destruction of the Constitution."
Those are the words of Barbara Jordan,
spoken during her nationally-televised speech
at the impeachment proceedings against Richard Nixon.
This fascinating woman is the star of tonight's film,
The Inquisitor.
Jordan was intelligent, passionate, and driven,
and her presence, speaking ability, and commanding voice
was a force to be reckoned with.
Her colleagues from both sides of the aisle
had great respect for her whenever she spoke,
and Jordan needed every persuasive tool in her arsenal,
given the fact that she was the first Black woman
from the Deep South elected to the U.S. Congress in 1972.
She soon found a spot on the powerful judiciary committee.
Jordan passed away in 1996 due to complications from pneumonia.
Sometimes, we don't realize just how much
people contribute to the world until they are gone.
But director Angela Tucker thought Jordan's story
was too inspirational not to be told.
Adding more to the director's multi-layered story
is the fact that Jordan was a lesbian
and considered the first LGBTQ+ woman in Congress,
even though she never publicly identified as queer.
This provided a creative challenge for Tucker,
who says everybody was aware of Jordan's sexuality
and her long-term partner, Nancy.
But they wanted to respect her wishes of privacy,
but also not shy away from what everybody knew.
From the filmmaking standpoint,
she used animation to tell the love story element
of Jordan's life.
Tucker has had an interesting and varied career,
having written and directed narrative feature films,
TV, and docuseries.
She has also worked on several PBS documentary productions
over the years.
The Inquisitor is the final doc in a trilogy of films
which explore Southern Black women and political power.
In a recent interview,
Tucker said she was working on two other short films
when she came across archival footage of Barbara Jordan
speaking at the aforementioned Watergate hearings.
She did her research, and before long,
found herself helming this film about this iconic American.
Tucker had a lot of high profile on-camera help making the film.
She scored appearances by political and public figures,
such as U.S. Rep Jasmine Crockett and Dan Rather.
Oscar-nominated Alfre Woodard provides narration.
Tucker says to capture Jordan's very formal way of speaking,
it helped to have an accomplished actor like Woodard,
who could adjust her tone and delivery accordingly.
I only wish I had the same capability when I say,
sit back and enjoy The Inquisitor.
It starts now on PBS Wisconsin, your home for independent film.