by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner
Word is that president-elect Donald Trump still has performance openings for next week's inaugural. In the selfless and noble spirit of public service, our poet kindly offers his own services, and anxiously awaits a response from Rump tower.
A Poet's Proposal for DT's Inauguration
by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner
Bet you wonderinâ how I knew
Few are willinâ to perform for you?
I heard it through the grapevine
Also on TV, radio and onlineâŚ
I ainât A-listâ
F-list, maybe?
Not a seven-figga n**** or War House Hoet in the
Retinue the Drone Ranger plays like plastic kazoosâ
Yet, Iâm willing to serve, sir:
Call it Patriot Act III!
Willing to audition, practice, rehearseâgratisâ
get on the back of a Greyhound bus, brown bag,
greasy fried chicken, like the good olâ daysâŚ
Apply a plastic smile, applaud on cue, shuffle, shake hands with
Strong-arm Williams, Sheriff Stephen Judas Clarke, Thom-ass
Clarence, and other warlike Bassackwards Tribal leaders
Iâm willing to get William Withers with you, sir:
Itâs my appointed duty
To let you use me
Get me in a crowd of right-wing racists and act real rude to meâ
âCause I wanna spread the news:
That if it trends this good gettinâ used
Come on, use me âtil you use me upâ
My fifteen-minutes of FLAME!!
Raymond Nat Turner is an acclaimed poet and performance artist. Find more of his work at http://upsurgejazz.com.
"Ethnic cleansing called Katrina" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence.
Jaribu Hill, Executive Director of the Mississippi Workersâ Center for Human Rights, recounts the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast and the efforts to organize on behalf of the people.
"Racism showed its ass in the days after August 29, 2005."
The official response to Katrina was a catastrophic failure of the state. The real story of survival was written by a coalition of the discardedâex-offenders and Black churchesâwho built their ownâŚ
The U.S. is a purveyor of global violence, as illustrated by the intensifying militarism in the Caribbean and targeting of Venezuela. The struggle to establish a Zone of Peace directly challengesâŚ
