Vernon Jordan

Uncommon card · No. 194349

Vernon Eulion Jordan Jr. (August 15, 1935 – March 1, 2021) was an American business executive and civil rights attorney who worked for various civil rights movement organizations before becoming a close advisor to President Bill Clinton. He survived a nearly fatal assassination attempt in 1980 at the hands of a white supremacist. Jordan grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, and graduated in 1957 from DePauw University. In the early 1960s, he started his civil rights career, most notably being a part of a team of lawyers that desegregated the University of Georgia. He then continued to work for multiple civil rights organizations until the late 1980s, including president of the National Urban League. The target of a 1980 assassination attempt designed to start a race war, this attempt on his life happened to be the first story covered on the inaugural broadcast of CNN. In the early 1990s, he became a close ally and friend of Bill Clinton and he served as part of Clinton's transition team. After Clinton...

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