June Jordan was born in Harlem in 1936. Poet, activist, teacher and essayist, she was a prolific, passionate and influential voice for liberation. She published 28 books of poetry, essays, and fiction, was a regular columnist for The Progressive and a prolific writer whose articles appeared in The Village Voice, The New York Times, Ms. , Essence, the American Poetry Review, The Nation and many other periodicals. June Jordan died in 2002.