June Jordan
June Jordan
June Millicent Jordanwas a Caribbean-American bisexual poet and activist...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPoet
Date of Birth9 July 1936
CountryUnited States of America
believe fighting i-believe
As I am a poet I express what I believe, and I fight against whatever I oppose, in poetry.
attitude fighting political
That attitude that fighting is probably not fair, but you have to defend yourself anyway and damage the enemy, has been profoundly consequential as far as my political activism goes.
father fighting taught
My father was both the person who gave me reason to learn how to fight and the one who taught me the basics of fighting. He would tell me that if it was a big fight, it would probably be uneven, it wouldn't be fair
country fighting men
Anytime you see white men suppose to fight each other an you not white, well you know you got trouble, because they blah-blah loud about Democrat or Republican an they huffing an puff about democracy someplace else but relentless, see, the deal come down evil on somebody don have no shirt an tie, somebody don live in no whiteman house no whiteman country.
apparently behalf cannot car couch courts freeze kid nor property seize
The courts cannot garnish a father's salary, nor freeze his account, nor seize his property on behalf of his children, in our society. Apparently this is because a kid is not a car or a couch or a boat.
CORE was committed to nonviolence, but I was not.
legacy energy moral
The neglected legacy of the Sixties is just this: unabashed moral certitude, and the purity -- the incredibly outgoing energy -- of righteous rage.
expectations atmosphere revolution
Revolution always unfolds inside an atmosphere of rising expectations.
friendship mother young
But, based on my friendship with Evie as young mothers, I started going on freedom rides in 1966.
heart sexuality tyranny
What tyranny could exceed a tyranny that dictates to the human heart?
powerful mean poetry
What's important about poetry in the context of leadership is that most of the time, power has to do with dominance. But poetry is never about dominance. Poetry is powerful but it cannot even aspire to dominate anyone. It means making a connection. That's what it means.
law justice united-states
The United States Supreme Court, once a reliable if ultimate recourse for progressive and even revolutionary grievances, has become a retrograde wellspring for enormous economic and social distress.
father hero tyrants
My father was very intense, passionate and over-the-top. He was my hero and my tyrant.
strong democracy welfare
A democratic state is not proven by the welfare of the strong but by the welfare of the weak.