June Jordan Many Rivers To Cross Analysis

In June Jordan's essay “Many Rivers to Cross,” Jordan explains how multiple events in her life, including her mother’s death, led her to realize that women should “stand up” and not allow men to control them. The title of the essay is very indicative of the process that she had to go through before she came to this epiphany. Jordan’s husband is a man who is a part of the patriarchy that disrespects women. Her father is another example of a man who doesn’t know better than to oppress women, while Mrs. Hazel Griffin is the antithesis to his misogynistic ideology. Mrs. Griffin is a strong, independent women who doesn't need a man to be happy or successful. Jordan believes that women should be strong, like Hazel Griffin, and not give up when they are being persecuted, rather than being weak and submitting to oppression, like Jordan’s mother.

But before Jordan decides to be strong and resist subjugation, she had to cross many rivers. The first river was her husband abandoning her. After he left her, he was

Her only option was to move back into her childhood home with her parents. Her father was very disapproving of Jordan because she was once again an unmarried woman, and, to make matters even worse, she was pregnant. This abuse from her father is the second river that she must cross. Her father believes that women should marry and stay married, serving their husbands and taking care of the children.

A neighbor, Mrs. Hazel Griffin, shows mercy and helps June Jordan move into her parents’ house even as Jordan’s mother lay ill. But while this neighbor helped a needy woman, Jordan’s father stood by and disapprovingly watched. He felt threatened by Mrs. Griffin because she was a single mother with a successful business who had not completed her education. Jordan’s father thought that women should adhere to strict gender roles and not be