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


  • Black Agenda Radio August 12, 2022
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio August 12, 2022
    12 Aug 2022
    National and international crises exemplified in Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan. The struggle to secure reparations for African people continues.
  • Pelosi, Taiwan, and the American Crisis
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Pelosi, Taiwan, and the American Crisis
    12 Aug 2022
    Dr. Anthony Monteiro is a Duboisian scholar and founder of the Saturday Free School for Philosophy and Black Liberation. He joins us from Philadelphia to analyze the crises in U.S. domestic and…
  • Reparations for African People
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Reparations for African People
    12 Aug 2022
    Kamm Howard is Executive Director of Reparations United. He recently attended the reparations and racial healing summit in Accra, Ghana. He joins us from Chicago to discuss the campaign to secure…
  • Nancy Pelosi, White Supremacy, and China
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Nancy Pelosi, White Supremacy, and China
    10 Aug 2022
    White supremacist arrogance was the order of the day when Nancy Pelosi ignored a red line set by the Chinese government and visited Taiwan.
  • ESSAY: Women in Prison: How We Are, Assata Shakur, 1978
    Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    ESSAY: Women in Prison: How We Are, Assata Shakur, 1978
    10 Aug 2022
    Assata Shakur exposes the conditions faced by incarcerated Black women in a powerful 1978 essay.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us