I am excited to announce that my new poem, “๐ ๐๐๐ฉ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฐ๐ง,” along with an excerpt from June Jordan’s influential 1981 book of essays, “Civil Wars,” will be ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ฌ๐ก๐๐ ๐จ๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐, ๐๐๐๐โher birthdayโby ๐๐จ๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ.
June Jordan powerfully described her experience, stating, “๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ป๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐ป๐๐น๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐น๐ฒ, ๐๐ต๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐๐น๐๐บ, ๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐ณ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ด๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด.” Despite this challenge, she became a groundbreaking poet and political activist. As one of the first Black female authors to make her mark, Jordan’s voice was crucial in a time when it was vital for such perspectives to be heard and celebrated.
๐ฌ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐:
No one ever brought me a single page
Written by a black hand
No poets, no historians
No faces like mine
No name whispered into the air
Not one. Not even a crumb.
The world I witnessed had no place for them
Their songs were unheard
And their stories remained untold
Their wisdom concealed
Behind a thick, silent wall
In a vast space where their presence
Should have been
And what I longed to see and hear.
And women?
Truly, they were absent
In this institution of higher learning
Not a single woman’s mind
No deep thinker present
No writers, no poets
No women to illuminate the path
Instead, only silence where voices
With strength and insight
And power to shape the world
Were never heard.
