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

Cleveland Championship?
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
10 Jun 2015
🖨️ Print Article

by BAR poet-in-residence Raymond Nat Turner

BAR's poet in residence reminds us that Cleveland has been taking shots as well as making shots for a long time now...

Cleveland Championship?

by BAR poet-in-residence   Raymond Nat Turner

“The power to kill compounds the need to kill”

-Judith Wright

LeBron shot 38 times,
Scored 44, needing 11
More shots to out shoot
One Cleveland pig; 107
More to out shoot the
Pig’s shoot-around, firing
Squad, fearing-for-their-
Lives, ‘Flash Brothers—’
Red-hot muzzles blazing,
Pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-
Pop-pop popcorn cordite,
Awful thud-thud-thud-thud-
Thud of their bullets burrowing,
Pock marking thin night skin of
The old baby blue Malibu Malissa
Williams’ and Timothy Russell’s
Disfigured faces and heads lay,
Blooming crimson on the Chevy’s
Steering wheel and dashboard

Cleveland’s ‘Flash Brothers,’
Cavalier killers of Black folk,
Out shot Sean Bell’s, Amadou
Diallo’s Big Apple shooters,
Out shot Mike Brown’s murderer
Walter Scott’s South Carolina
Killer, out shot ol’ Thronberry,
‘Riders’ from ‘Tha Town,’ out
Shot Oaktown shooters of Gary
King, Melvin Black, Charles
Briscoe, Casper Banjo, but no
Championship for Cleveland

Two seconds on the clock
Cleveland’s ‘Flash Brothers,’
Cavalier killers of Black folk,
Shoot a 12-year-old boy, tackle
His 14-year-old sister, threaten
His mom with arrest; flagrantly
Fouling out of the human race—
Like Philly pigs bombing, barbequing
11 MOVE children and adults,
Razing 60 homes, no championship
For Cleveland

So, why am I so slow to share bliss
Blanketing ‘Tha Town’ like morning
Fog? Oaktown earned it ol’ fashioned
Ways: Oscar Grant, Occupy Oakland,
‘General Strike’ street heat, port shut-
Downs ‘gainst apartheid states near/far!

So, why am I so conflicted, digging
Young cats, Ali-less, Russell-less,
Kareem-less, Brown-less, Coltrane-
Like, working craft, remaining humble?

Is it because of the ‘bigs,’
Backing us down, running set plays,
Serial wars, making us settle— low
Percentage shots every two/four years?

Is it because of the ‘bigs,’
Swatting Black lives away through thin blue
Lines, high fructose corn syrup food deserts,
Chicken colonies of poverty and obesity?

Is it because of the ‘bigs—’
Grubb, Coldwell, Wells Fargo banksters,
Remax Red Oak, and their sneering FOR
SALE/SOLD signs, dominating down low?

Is it because of the ‘bigs—’
Boarding up houses, shuttering schools,
Libraries, parks, rec centers and erecting
Ever grander play palaces to themselves?

Is it because of the ‘bigs’
Off-shoring jobs and subbing
Arrogant settlers, upturned noses, barking
Dogs, for Caterpillar, Peterbilt, Postal, GM,
Highland Hospital, Naval Shipyard, starters?

Is it because of the ‘bigs’
Bounce passes to haters of Blacks,
FOX-box trolls, disguised as fans
Standing ‘their’ ground, 2nd place
‘Winners’ with the1%!
Overseer tones to 55-inch screens,
Commanding Black bodies: “cut,”
“Stop dribbling,” “drive,” “shoot,”
“Come out aggressive,” “go strong
To the hole,” “play hurt,” don’t holler
“I can’t breathe,” “Hands up, don’t
Shoot,” don’t “bulk up like Hulk
Hogan,” “run through shots,” don’t
Take off running, make “eye contact,”
Or resist ‘arrest’ from fetal positions—
500lbs of knees in your back…

Is it because of the ‘bigs’
Finding ways to win, sweeping stats mattering
Most—triple-doubles, Dr. King drew up ‘67—
No matter who hoists trophies, lines parades as
Kings, for a day?

Raymond Nat Turner Š 2015 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


  • How a Popular Medical Device Encodes Racial Bias
    Amy Moran-Thomas
    How a Popular Medical Device Encodes Racial Bias
    12 Aug 2020
    Pulse oximeters give biased results for people with darker skin, and the consequences can be serious.
  • Bourgeoisie Cash is flowing in the Coffers of Black Lives Matter
    African People’s Socialist Party
    Bourgeoisie Cash is flowing in the Coffers of Black Lives Matter
    12 Aug 2020
    We must at every instance solve the question of how to fund the revolution without becoming subservient or dependent on our oppressors.
  • Green Party Presidential Candidate Howie Hawkins Says 'Real Solutions Can’t Wait'
    Barry Sheppard
    Green Party Presidential Candidate Howie Hawkins Says 'Real Solutions Can’t Wait'
    12 Aug 2020
    The Green Party’s presidential pick discusses his foreign and domestic policy positions.
  • Black Agenda Radio for Week of August 10, 2020
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    Black Agenda Radio for Week of August 10, 2020
    11 Aug 2020
    “Black August” Honors Captives of Armed Struggle
  • Midwives Could Help Stem Maternal and Infant Death Toll
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    Midwives Could Help Stem Maternal and Infant Death Toll
    11 Aug 2020
    Dr Sasha Turner, professor of History at Johns Hopkins University, says more extensive use of midwives would reduce skyrocketing increases in maternal birth difficulties, worldwide
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us