false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172543285m/188052.jpg 188052 1 Activist, poet, essayist, and professor June Jordan collects some of her most provocative essays from the 1990s in <I>Affirmative Acts</I>, a book that, like <I>Civil Wars</I> and <I>Technical Difficulties</I>, showcases her ability to appeal to a wide range of readers, covering topics like politics, race relations, the intersections between activism and passion, women's health care, and affirmative-action debates.<p> Jordan articulates complex and uncompromising points of view without alienating her readers in a swirl of jargon and tired political rhetoric. In the title essay, she writes: "I'm saying that calculated racialization of poverty, inequality, immigration, and education colors these realities so that too many of us perceive these issues as strictly equivalent to this or that race/this or that language/this or that ethnic heritage when, actually, the issue is how we ... devise a democratic, and peaceable, means to go on, or not!" Before she explains her proposed solutions, Jordan follows this sentiment with a simple observation: "It would seem we'd better get busy."<p> With essays like "We Are All Refugees," "My Mess and Ours," and "Notes on a Model of Resistance," <I>Affirmative Acts</I> places a human voice behind the cold facts of injustice, combining prose and poetry in an irreverent, conversational tone. Jordan espouses an earnest perspective informed by the spirit of collectivism, activism, social consciousness, respect, and hope. <I>--Amy Wan</I> 181766 20 10 1998 Affirmative Acts total:28|5:13|4:10|3:4|2:1|1:0| 28 119 50 1 4 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2001 Fri Dec 14 18:34:46 -0800 2007 Fri Dec 14 18:34:55 -0800 2007 ]]> 0 0 false false Sat Nov 07 23:07:11 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 26 08:07:17 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Wed Oct 21 16:07:17 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 21 16:07:17 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Oct 14 06:42:29 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 14 06:42:29 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Wed Aug 05 21:37:14 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 05 21:37:14 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Mon Jul 27 00:32:58 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 27 00:32:58 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Thu Jun 18 08:01:26 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 18 08:01:26 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Sun May 24 14:16:23 -0700 2009 Sun May 24 14:16:23 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat May 23 11:56:13 -0700 2009 Sat May 23 11:56:13 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat Apr 25 20:04:15 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 25 20:04:15 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Mon Apr 20 21:04:30 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 20 21:04:30 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Sun Mar 01 01:45:25 -0800 2009 Sun Mar 01 01:45:29 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Thu Feb 19 15:13:39 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 19 15:13:39 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Mon Feb 16 15:49:35 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 16 15:49:35 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Fri Feb 13 19:54:02 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 13 19:54:02 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Mon Feb 09 07:00:06 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 09 07:00:06 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Mon Jan 26 23:43:04 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 26 23:43:04 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Sun Jan 25 19:00:36 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 25 19:00:36 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Tue Jan 13 09:00:36 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 13 09:00:36 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sat Jan 03 19:00:51 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 03 19:00:51 -0800 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=188052