Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

Army of Artists (For My Friend Horace Silver)
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
17 Dec 2025
šŸ–Øļø Print Article
Horace Silver
Medu Art Ensemble, Culture and Resistance Symposium and Festival of the Arts, 1982.

Harmony of a hug,
Rhythm of a rose,
Melody in the mirror

We are an army of artists
Merchants of life,
Beauty's our bomb,
Love its shrapnel…

We are an army of artists
Infantry on feet of celebration,
Toes polishing
Hardwood floors with perspiration

We are an army of artists
Brandishing sticks and brushes,
Softening up enemies with
Strokes and notes,
Partisans wielding pastels,
Oils and acrylics—
Connecting dots, hitting spots
On canvas and paper

We are an army of artists
Foreign fighters, formerly known
As Dukes, Counts, Birds and Pops—
Militant magi weaving dreams in
Azure skies, etching prayers
In mirrors with our acid tears

We are an army of artists
Asymmetrical warriors,
Mopping up murals
Gracing broken-down buildings—
Enemy combatants crying clear
Lacquer on contrabasses,
Snipers shooting sunlight into
Hearts held hostage by the 1%
Ellingtonia is our tonic…
For subdominant dreams

We are an army of artists
Dangerously unselfish,
Enemies of ignorance
Drumming to different dancers—
Staging attacks in theaters
Exploding in applause!

Ā© 2010. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

Raymond Nat Turner is a NYC poet, BAR's Poet-in-Residence, and founder/co-leader of the jazz-poetry ensemble UpSurge!NYC. You can vote for his work at GoFundMe and PayPal.

poetry
Art
resistance

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


Related Stories

Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
MrJoeSam’s Text Messages
12 June 2024
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR’s poet-in-residence, pays homage to San Francisco’s shipyard artist JoeSam who died peacefully on June 1, 2024, surroun
Raymond Nat Turner
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Dis-honest Broker
01 May 2024
"Dis-honest Broker" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence, recently performed at UpSurge!
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Raymond Nat Turner at the UpSurge Jazz Celebration
03 April 2024
 
JoeSam art
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
MrJoeSam’s Text Messages
24 January 2024
MrJoeSam’s Text Messages
Image of Refaat Alareer sitting in a crowd of graduates
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
POEM: If I Must Die, Refaat Alareer, 2023
13 December 2023
Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer, a martyr of zionist state genocidal violence, has left us with a tale of resistance and hope.
BAR Book Forum: Jennifer S. Ponce de León’s ā€œAnother Aesthetics Is Possibleā€
Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
BAR Book Forum: Jennifer S. Ponce de León’s ā€œAnother Aesthetics Is Possibleā€
07 December 2021
In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book.
Reese Piece…
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Reese Piece…
15 April 2021
Salute to City of Angels’ son! He wrote, he wrote, he wrote And he wrote… Ramparts, The Progressive, The
First 100 Daze: A ā€˜new’ dance craze
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
First 100 Daze: A ā€˜new’ dance craze
27 January 2021
Everybody’s wild ā€˜bout this ā€˜new’ dance craze— this lewd, crude dance called ā€œThe 1st 100 Dazeā€¦ā€
mashing the state— Kristallnacht-style
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
mashing the state— Kristallnacht-style
20 January 2021
Kristallnacht came casting lead ballots, overthrowing Black elected officials and Massacring those that VOTED for them— 
This is what hypocrisy looks like…
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
This is what hypocrisy looks like…
13 January 2021
ā€œIt's like writing history with lightning.ā€œ ā€” Woodrow Wilson on Birth of A Nation

More Stories


  • Tunde Osazua
    Violence and Extraction in Mozambique: How Neo-Colonial Forces and Corporate Interests Undermine Security
    13 Nov 2024
    Western corporate interests have targeted Mozambique to exploit its natural resources, using tactics of destabilization and neoliberal austerity measures to weaken the nation. While these imperialist…
  • Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright
    Unprincipled, Unstrategic, and Unsustainable: e(U)logy for the U.S. Climate ā€œMovementā€
    13 Nov 2024
    The ineffectiveness of the climate movement during the 2024 election signals its inevitable collapse. But from the rubble, a new movement dedicated to the working class can be built.
  • Fedaa al-Qedra
    Palestinian surgeon survives Sde Teiman and Ofer Prison
    13 Nov 2024
    The heartwrenching story of Dr. Khaled Al Serr is a haunting example of the barbarity of the Israeli entity and the strength of the Palestinian people.
  • Stanley Kwabla Arku
    Niger to Host Conference in Solidarity with the Sahel Amid its Anti-Imperialist Upsurge
    13 Nov 2024
    Activists from across Africa and the world will gather in Niger from November 19 to 21 for the ā€œConference in Solidarity with the Peoples of the Sahelā€.
  • Noah Hurowitz
    Congress Is About to Gift Trump Sweeping Powers to Crush His Political Enemies
    13 Nov 2024
    The House is set to vote Tuesday on a bill that would let the administration destroy nonprofits it claims support terrorism.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us