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

Baltimore Fries
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
01 Jul 2015
🖨️ Print Article

by BAR poet in residence Nathaniel Turner

No fries for Ferguson, no burgers
For Baltimore—have it your way…

Baltimore Fries

by BAR poet in residence Nathaniel Turner

Had they just stood down, and forgot Mike Brown—
Ignored Freddie Gray and just civilly strolled away
Eschewing genocidal violence that crosses the line—
At least cut carnage of their thuggish protests’ to 9
Heading home awaiting the arresting officers’ knock
With no flash-bangs, no A-Rs— just holstered Glock
Peacefully entering black homes and arresting them,
Reading them their rights, bulletproof-vesting them
Under color of law and done fitting and done proper—
Then they, too, just might have dined on Whopper!

No corporate, confederate-FOX, psy-war lore,
No heroic blonde man-of-war, would-be-Boer,
No compassion, camaraderie, or esprit de corps—
No fries for Ferguson, no burgers for Baltimore!

It’s because rebellious Black youth acted like thugs
Wearing the wrong patches and wrong colored mugs
Why, the Commander even said so—make no mistake,
No Mickey D, no Burger King and no fries, no shake,
No Popeye, no Colonel Sanders, no Wendy’s, no Jack
For Black working-class kids out there fighting back!

No corporate, confederate-FOX, psy-war lore,
No heroic blonde man-of-war, would-be-Boer,
No compassion, camaraderie or esprit de corps—
No fries for Ferguson, no burgers for Baltimore!

                 

Understand why the copper
                 Felt it fitting and proper
                 Treating a B K Whopper                  To the pop-pop-popper?

Raymond Nat Turner © 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


  • ​​​​​​​ 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