Poem about My Rights

A prolific poet, June Jordan’s poetry is inseparable from her career as an essayist, public speaker, activist, and educator. Born in 1936, Jordan came of age at a tumultuous political time; her poetic works reflect her engagement with the social issues of the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, including World War II and the American civil rights movement of the 50s and 60s. “Poem About My Rights” squarely fits with the larger body of Jordan’s academic and poetic work, both of which use personal observation and description to speak out against injustice on a global scale. This is reflective of other poets’ efforts at the time—many of whom were writing against inequity while experimenting with form.

Similarly, Jordan’s contemporaries like Alice Walker and Adrienne Rich, were authors who worked to examine the world around them. As a Black woman, Jordan used her own experiences to build a collection of works speaking out against racism, sexism, and other systemic forms of oppression. Notably, Jordan also lived out these beliefs as a professor and essayist; many of the ways she wrote—including the specific vernacular and compositional structures—reflect her interest in departing from formal American English and more authentically representing the Black experience through language.

For more on Jordan’s philosophical beliefs about English, readers may be interested in her 1985 essay, “Nobody Mean More to Me Than You and The Future Life of Willie Jordan.”