June Jordan, political activist, essayist, poet and teacher

“As a child I was taught that to tell the truth was often painful. As an adult I have learned that not to tell the truth is more painful, and that the fear of telling the truth — whatever the truth may be — that fear is the most painful sensation of a moral life.” (from “Life After Lebanon,” 1984, later published in “On Call: Political Essays,” 1985)

July 9, 1936-June 14, 2002