June Jordan

Married Name: JUNE MEYER (Born July 9, 1936, New York, N.Y., U.S.) African-American author who investigated both social and personal concerns through poetry, essays, and drama. Jordan grew up in Brooklyn, New York and attended Barnard College (1953-55, 1956-57) and the University of Chicago (1955-56). Beginning in 1967, she taught English and literature. She fought for the inclusion of Black Studies and third-world studies in university curricula and advocated acceptance of Black English. With architect R. Buckminster Fuller, she created a plan for the architectural redesign of Harlem , New York. Her first poetry collection, "Who Look at Me", appeared in 1969; among her subsequent collections of poems were "Some Changes" (1971), "Things That I Do in the Dark" (1977), "Living Room" (1985), and "Naming Our Destiny" (1989).