Life as Activism

This volume is a complete collection of June Jordan's columns for The Progressive published between 1989 and 2001. Jordan (1936-2002) was a poet and UC Berkeley professor who is celebrated as a great human rights activist and social critic. Through her work she taught a concept of life as activism based on inclusiveness consistency honesty and identification with the oppressed. Far from being a purely idealistic and unsustainable approach to life Jordan demonstrated that life as activism can be a way of engaging with the world that is accessible to all people who are committed to social justice. The writings collected here can be read as a road map to such a life of activism. These columns provide a critical study of important issues from the end of the twentieth century as well as a clear illustration of the intersections of many forms of injustice and oppression celebrating a movement away from single-issue politics to a far-reaching activism.