Affirmative Acts

by June Jordan

Piercingly intuitive, eloquent, and caustic, Affirmative Acts is an address to the social, economic, racial, and political conflicts that mar the otherwise beautiful human experience.

In this new collection of political essays, Jordan explores the confusion of an America in the grip of pseudo-multiculturalism and political intolerance. Continuing in the tradition of her classic collections Civil Wars and Technical Difficulties, Jordan acquaints readers with moments of American life threatened by social negligence and economic despair. With her characteristic insight, Jordan unveils how these too-frequent bouts of civil unrest bring out the weakest parts of the American spirit and challenges readers to remain inspired as society approaches the millennium.

June Jordan's wisdom shines through in this brilliant collection of inspirational essays, which will be eagerly awaited by Jordan loyalists and enjoyed by her new readers.

Genres: Essays, Feminism, Poetry, Politics, Nonfiction, African American, Race

288 pages, Paperback

First published October 20, 1998

About the author

June Millicent Jordan (July 9, 1936 – June 14, 2002) was a Caribbean-American poet and activist.

Jordan received numerous honors and awards, including a 1969-70 Rockefeller grant for creative writing, a Yaddo Fellowship in 1979, a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship in 1982, and the Achievement Award for International Reporting from the National Association of Black Journalists in 1984. Jordan also won the Lila Wallace Reader's Digest Writers Award from 1995 to 1998 as well as the Ground Breakers-Dream Makers Award from The Woman's Foundation in 1994.

She was included in Who's Who in America from 1984 until her death. She received the Chancellor's Distinguished Lectureship from UC Berkeley and the PEN Center USA West Freedom to Write Award (1991).

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely timely, especially considering these essays are more than twenty years old now. The circumstances may have changed, but June Jordan's emotional and political response still resonates.

"We, women, know about coming together in grief
We know about coming together against loneliness
We know about coming together in love, and in acts of committed , reliable, kindness
But we, women, we still do not know about and crave and insist upon coming together in power for power;
Coming together for a specific, collective, political purpose, each and every time we convene a meeting of as many of us as we can persuade to stand or sit together, united."

[hashoun · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book of political essays that highlight revolutionary potential in the masses. Particularly in politics, education, personal life, and community building. Though not every word sung true for me June Jordan emulates the politics of her time in coherent and inspiring ways that still has relevance today.

[Marsha · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are individual essays so I am reading them in no particular order. What I can say is that although the first essay is dated 1990 (the year Nelson Mandela emerged from prison after serving 27 years), her essays could have easily been written in 2015. As one reviewer stated "... she says exactly what she means to say and says it powerfully. ... She manages to tap that place where race and sexuality, class and justice, gender and memory come together..." Rather than "tap," I'd say disrupt. Her essays (what I have read so far), are calls to action or at the least a call to greater awareness of how politics not only shapes our lives and how we live, but determines how well we can live and interact with others in this world. Her books are a prized addition to my collection of books and essays written by and about black women, history, politics and even academia.

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A- I love JJ

[Ebony]

All I can say is June Jordan is a modern day hero! But who doesn't know that??