What June Jordan Taught Me About Language and Power

June Jordan's essay, "Nobody Means More to Me Than You and the Future Life of Willie Jordan," had an impact on me that few works of writing have ever had. It is not simply an essay about writing or grammar—it's a call directly to the way we think about language, race, and respect. Jordan writes from the position of a teacher and as a Black woman grieving the loss of one of her students, Willie Jordan, who was killed by the police. She talks about how Black English—the language that most of her students use at home and in the community—is always labeled as "improper" or "wrong" by society and schools. But Jordan reverses it. She thinks Black English isn't a mistake; it's a great, living, valuable language. And by denigrating it, schools are denigrating the value and voice of Black children. This essay made me think a lot about the manner in which language comes into my life. Whether at school, in the locker room, or as I text my friends, I change the manner in which I speak depending on where I am heading. Mechanisms by which I speak being thought of as less intelligent solely because of the way that they sound is what Jordan is combating. What resonated with me most is that she grounds her argument in love—not anger. She's not just arguing about grammar. She's arguing on behalf of her students' right to be and to be heard. That's the kind of teacher, teammate, and human I want to become: a person who listens, respects, and gives voice to the voices that matter most.