Vernon Jordan Broke Barriers as Corporate and Civil Rights Icon

Vernon Jordan, a civil rights pioneer and power broker, played a trailblazing role in opening up the doors of the corporate and legal world, a legacy Black attorneys said they would build on, following his death Monday.

“Many of us have and will continue to take that torch and break down barriers and glass ceilings, because we had a Vernon Jordan who showed us that we could,” said CK Hoffler, president of the National Bar Association, the nation’s oldest organization of black lawyers. “Now, we take the lessons that he taught us and forge ahead to become the Vernon Jordans ...