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 The State Machine’s Machinegun-Totin’ Cops… 
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
20 Aug 2014
🖨️ Print Article

by BAR poet-in-residence Raymond Nat Turner

Dey got Glocks, pumps, tasirs, peppurspray, vess—
White magik fo’ conjurin’ cases ob “resisin’ aress!”

My Wise Country Cousin on The State Machine’s Machinegun-Totin’ Cops… 

by BAR poet-in-residence Raymond Nat Turner

Look lak de Daltuns, Youngas an ol’ James gangs
Is resirrecit, an’ up ridin’ again, doin’ dey thangs—
Bowdin’ de D train wit machinegun-totin’ police
Dey needin’ dat firepower fo’ “keepin’ de peace?”
‘Less Al Kater on de A, Boocoo Harome on de B
Dem damn machineguns make no sense, to me…
‘Less Eyesool on de C, an’ Eyesis down on de D
Dem damn machineguns make no sense, to me…
Dey got Glocks, pumps, tasirs, peppurspray, vess—
White magik fo’ conjurin’ cases ob “resisin’ aress!”

Dey shoutin’ night an’ day‘bout Eyesool and Eyesis
Coverin’ up de fac dey sistum’s tremblin’ wit crisis:
Workin’ folk tired ob takeaways an’ myzerly charity
Caint take much mo’ ob dese heists called awesterity—
Son, I tolt you once, tolt you twice, dis makes thrice
Dis a police state Negroz an’ liberuls call ‘paradice!’

Dey got C-Is, Demografick Units an Mosk Crawlers,
Ebben mens among trash hallers, an’ cable installers…
Now, it lookin’ lak to me dat Bloody Billy Bratton
Is bringin’ dat ol’ SS mess up here in Manhattun…
Sho lookin’ lak what de youngtaz be callin’ po-po
Is jes de Furor’s ol’ gang ob thugs de Gustop-po—
Well, so much fo’ hare-splittin,’ ackademik debate,
It pas’ time fo’ callin’ dis muthafucka a police state!

Raymond Nat Turner can be contacted at Raymond (at) upsurgejazz.com
Raymond Nat Turner © 2105 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


  • Cops and Spies Chase Blacks and Leftists While Violent Whites Grow Bolder
    Alice Speri 
    Cops and Spies Chase Blacks and Leftists While Violent Whites Grow Bolder
    29 Jan 2020
    The cops can’t find white terrorists in plain sight, but they have turned technology to the task of criminalizing Black and Left dissent.
  • Letters from Our Readers 
    Jahan Chowdhry, BAR Comments Editor
    Letters from Our Readers 
    29 Jan 2020
    This week readers discuss Democratic Party racism and the abuse of Martin Luther King’s legacy.  We share your letters for “
  • BAR Book Forum: Fikile Nxumalo’s “Decolonizing Place in Early Childhood Education”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Fikile Nxumalo’s “Decolonizing Place in Early Childhood Education”
    29 Jan 2020
    The author rejects ways of teaching that distort Black young people’s relationships with the natural world.
  • BAR Book Forum: Cindy Milstein’s “Paths toward Utopia”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Cindy Milstein’s “Paths toward Utopia”
    29 Jan 2020
    The author believes we are at a crossroads between fascism and/or extinction, and a path of communal care.
  • Black Abolitionists Believed in Taking Up Arms
    Randal Maurice Jelks
    Black Abolitionists Believed in Taking Up Arms
    29 Jan 2020
    Long before the Civil War, Black abolitionists shared the consensus that violence would be necessary to end slavery.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us