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

My Wise Country Cousin on Ferguson
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
10 Sep 2014
🖨️ Print Article

by BAR poet-in-residence Raymond Nat Turner

Ahm prowd ob Fightin’ Furgasun’s po, wurkin peeples, heroic youf Dey de wonz we can count on wen we’s fightin fo’ Justus, an’ Troof—

My Wise Country Cousin on Ferguson

by BAR poet-in-residence Raymond Nat Turner

Furgasun feel lak fresh air— a grate big festabul ob de masses
Now, de way folk unerstan it, depen on how dey see classes…
It’s lak de bus boycotts an freedum riots fo’ po’ folk lak me
But, de beginnin’ ob de en fo’ de blak booze-wah-zee…

 

Furgasun a revelooshunary skool teachin’ who/ how, ta fight:
Enamees ‘lef’, enamees rite, an’ enamees blak, enamees white—
Wen it pass a week, massas say, “Whoa, dis tang gittin’ messy!”
“We’s gon’ haf ta sen de Sharlaton boy, or at leese sen Jesse!”
But, ‘ol’ skool’ not enuf, dey mix ‘new skool’ in Massas’ Plan
Lak de ol’ witch: “a lil’ poison”——Blow, Lemon, an’ Van!
“Our niggas fly lak de witch’s monkees, roun’ de kid’s caskit
Speak disdane fo’ Fightin’ Furgasun: ‘millitunnz’ ta mask it!”

Me, ahm prowd ob Fightin’ Furgasun— speshally de heroic youf
Dey de onlee wonz ta count on fightin’ fo justus, ta tell de troof—
Dem fancy, remoat-cuntroled, Negroz ‘bout de bucks, an’libbin’ hi
“Follow de Eksampul ob Fightin’ Furgasun!” is our battulcry…

Raymond Nat Turner can be contacted at Raymond (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


  • ​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist
    An Electoral Victory Is Not the Defeat of Fascism: A Black Radical Perspective on the Democratic Party's Midterm Victories
    04 Nov 2026
    Democratic victories are a setback for Trump and the Republican Party, but not a defeat of the forces driving fascism.
  • Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    ESSAY: Black Organizations and White Money, Glen Ford, 1975
    04 Nov 2026
    “It is clear that the availability of white money caused Black organizations to restructure themselves into fund-raising agencies.”
  • Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor , Daniel Teklai
    Ethiopia–Eritrea Tensions: Is the Media Telling the Full Story?
    04 Nov 2026
    BAR Contributing Editor Ann Garrison joins Daniel Teklai to examine the reporting, competing narratives, and U.S. foreign policy interests surrounding the Ethiopia–Eritrea confrontation.
  • Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright
    AIPAC Going Dark Sheds New Light on the Derelictions of the Democrat Party
    04 Nov 2026
    AIPAC's decision to stop directly endorsing and funding candidates is merely a shift to dark money. Democratic Party leaders are completely in sync with AIPAC's goals and will not cut them out of…
  • Netfa Freeman
    The Inescapability of the Struggle for the African United Front In the U.S.
    04 Nov 2026
    African people in the U.S. must consolidate their myriad organizations into a united front. A U.S. revolution is impossible without first building local alliances among Black radical organizations…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us