Premieres Monday, Feb. 23, 2026 at 11 p.m. on KPBS TV / Stream with KPBS+
A riveting documentary, “The Inquisitor” highlights the legacy of Texas Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, an American politician, lawyer, educator, and public servant, whose ethical principles and interrogation skills served the United States at pivotal points in history, from the revision and extension of the Voting Rights Act to the 1987 Supreme Court nomination hearings of Robert Bork.
INDEPENDENT LENS explores her life and legacy, unraveling how her sharp intellect and public influence transformed U.S. politics, while exploring the complexities of her private struggles that few ever knew.
EmmyⓇ Award-winning filmmaker Angela Tucker ("Belly of the Beast") beautifully guides viewers through the extraordinary triumphs of Jordan’s life whose commanding voice and uncompromising integrity reshaped American politics. Rising from segregation-era Houston to become the first Black woman from the South elected to Congress, Jordan emerged as a moral force during some of the nation’s most turbulent moments. Through archival footage, intimate testimony, and contemporary insights, Tucker reveals a woman of profound intellect and discipline who carried immense personal burdens behind the scenes.
“'The Inquisitor' chronicles Barbara Jordan’s moral clarity and offers us all a framework for uniting a divided America—an especially powerful message today when it feels like forces are trying to divide us into simplistic camps or ideologies,” said Lois Vossen, INDEPENDENT LENS founding executive producer. “Filmmaker Angela Tucker delivers a compelling portrait of one of the great U.S. civil rights icons, and connects the past to our present in an exemplary way.”
During the impeachment hearings of President Nixon in 1974, Jordan was a 38-year-old junior Texas congresswoman. During a speech recognized for its political oratory, she reminded listeners of the constitutional agreement made for the collective experiment of democracy. With praise from both political parties, she earned the title of ‘inquisitor.’ Jordan’s political purpose then became clear—to compel people to ask hard questions and face the answers together.
One week after this infamous speech, Jordan was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. At the height of her career, Jordan left politics but continued in public service as an educator and ethical guide for leaders such as Bill Clinton and Ann Richards.
While Jordan’s political legacy is the center of “The Inquisitor,” the film also looks at her personal life. Colleagues and friends, as well as the public, learned of her illness only after her death. The film examines how Jordan navigated race, gender, power, and privacy—insisting on constitutional principles in public while guarding her inner life from view—offering a timely portrait of leadership rooted in courage, restraint, and truth.
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