June Jordan, born on this day in 1936, was a queer Jamaican-American author, feminist, and educator whose works include Some of Us Did Not Die and Report From the Bahamas. “Poetry is a political act because it involves telling the truth.”

In her writing, Jordan explores issues of gender, race, capitalism, privilege, immigration, and representation. Jordan was passionate about using Black English in both her writing and her classroom, teaching her students to treat Black English as its own language and as an important outlet for expressing Black culture.

As a professor at Berkeley, Jordan founded the “Poetry for the People” program in 1991. Its aim was to inspire and empower students to use poetry as a means of artistic expression.

Although not widely recognized when first published in 1982, Jordan’s essay “Report from the Bahamas”, has since become an important work in gender studies, sociology, and anthropology.

“Poetry is a political act because it involves telling the truth.”

  • June Jordan

June Jordan - Poetry foundation

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  • gray [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    5 months ago

    Is anyone else really fucking scared for a second Trump presidency? I don’t live in a swing state and don’t plan on voting, but I’m terrified. It’s been interesting watching the people on r*ddit turn on Biden after the debate, most threads are still filled with people saying “I’d vote for a corpse over Trump!” because that’s quite literally what the democratic party is asking them to do.

    • wtypstanaccount04 [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      5 months ago

      Somehow I’m not, mostly because it’s clear to me that most Americans hate Trump anyway, and I lived through the first presidency. Maybe libs will grow a backbone again. Sounds arrogant to say, but our two “options” don’t leave me with much confidence in the future of our country.

    • SovietyWoomy [any]@hexbear.net
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      5 months ago

      Nonzero chance he cuts funding for nazis or pulls out of nato, and libs will pretend to be angry about certain bad things for a few years. Other than that, the horror show won’t be all that different than if democrats were in charge and negotiating with a republican minority.

    • Cowbee [he/him, they/them]@hexbear.net
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      5 months ago

      You may as well cast your vote for PSL, getting over 5% secures funding for them, but don’t let me tell you what to do.

      As for Trump, there will be more overt fascist signaling and red states will likely bolster new confidence in more extreme fascism, but blue states may see improved conditions as liberals become the “resistance” once again. Geopolitically Trump is more like a wild bull, he doesn’t play the stock standard establishment game, but that doesn’t make it better necessarily.

    • Assian_Candor [comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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      5 months ago

      There’s not much difference other than the hogs being more annoying. The current composition of the supreme Court ensures a rightward slide for the foreseeable future regardless of who is in power unfortunately.

      I am not looking forward to more annoying hogs.

      OTOH maybe we will normalize relations with DPRK lol. I do also think the war in Ukraine will stop with trump in office so some silver lining there.

    • hello_hello [comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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      5 months ago

      We can’t fall into the great man idealism, the USA’s material conditions have been worsening and will continue to worsen as its position grows weaker in a more multi-polar world. Americans will hate crime whether or not a racist or a slightly older racist is head of state.

      It’s better to stay organized against the bourgeoisie and protect your communities in the imperial core.