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
  • omnibus

…In his head
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
10 Mar 2014
🖨️ Print Article

by Raymond Nat Turner

Dr. King’s Dream come true,

In his head! Black folks way better

Off, in his head, Rev. Wright was

Wrong, in his head!

 

…In his head

by Raymond Nat Turner

 

Headin’ downtown on the D train

The other day I overheard oration—

By a fella, to a fella, from a fella 51/50

“Mexicans takin’ our jobs; they hate

Our freedoms— but blurred lines,

Beyonce’s booty, NAACP Image

Awards, Robin Thicke & recovery

Jus’ roun’ the corner; smart phone,

Dr. Dre headphones lift me outta

Poverty; smart bombs protect my

Freedoms; I got 2,000 Facebook

Friends, a poke away, who gimme

My kidney & bone marrow transplant!”

 

Booming baritone thundering in

Harmony with the train, he continued

His melodious, rhythmic catechism,

“Since ’08 things been Great,” in his

Head, Dr. King’s Dream come true,

In his head! Black folks way better

Off, in his head, Rev. Wright was

Wrong, in his head! “Yes, we can,”

In his head, mo’ Black folks have

Homes since World War II, in his

Head! Mo’ Black wealth than ever

Before, in his head; fewer Black folk

Dyin’ fo’ they 70th, in his head; mo’

Black men goin’ to college than jail,

In his head, liars figure but figures

Don’t lie, in his head, in his head,

“Change we can believe in,” in his

Head, police stopped shootin’ us

Since that beer, in his head; we

Cool, long as Big Brother brown, in

His head! Oratory swelling like a

Dark cumulus cloud, lookin’ me

Dead in the eye, “This election the

Mos’ important election ever…”

 

“The rich say that every time,” I snapped.

He leapt up like a man possessed, banshee-

Rebel- wailing, “What, you ain’t votin’?

Nigger, get away from me, you is cra-aaa-zy!”

 

Raymond Nat Turner can be contacted at upsurgejazz.com

 

Raymond Nat Turner © 2014 All Rights Reserved

 

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


More Stories


  • Barack Obama
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Obama Scolds While Harris Implodes
    25 Oct 2024
    Dr. Anthony Monteiro joins us to discuss the latest twists and turns of the 2024 presidential election. Barack Obama felt compelled to scold Black men, while Kamala Harris talked endlessly about…
  • Martinique protest
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Martinique's History of Resistance
    25 Oct 2024
    Roddy Rod is an anti-Kepone activist, pan-African, anti-imperialism resident of Martinique. He is also a resident of the African nation the Ivory Coast. He joins us to discuss recent protests in…
  • Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    The U.S. Continues Its Terror Campaign Against Cuba
    23 Oct 2024
    The ongoing U.S./Israeli genocide has diverted attention away from other crimes. The electricity crisis in Cuba is but one example of how the U.S. determination to dominate has created suffering…
  • Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    POEM: The Earth Is Closing On Us, Mahmoud Darwish, 1995
    23 Oct 2024
    “Where should we go after the last frontiers? Where should the birds fly after the last sky?”
  • Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    New York Times Attacks “Peace-peddling” Jill Stein as the Presidential Race Comes Down to the Wire
    23 Oct 2024
    The New York Times scapegoats Green Party presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein as polls indicate a dead heat between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us