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

For Fancy Miss Nancy
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
19 Dec 2018
🖨️ Print Article
Nancy Sue Wilson 1937-2018
Nancy Sue Wilson 1937-2018

Guess who I saw
today, black and white photo,
Marching, Montgomery from
Selma, ‘65?

Guess who I saw
at my high school swingin’ the
Trio; urging us to stay in school?

Guess who I,
was privileged to sequence
a later CD for, late one night?

…and you don’t know, you don’t know how
Glad I am that she
put the purr in whisper, with a sultry
Sound that could make subpoenas seem sensuous

…and you don’t know, you don’t know how
Glad I am that she
Appeared, sparkling, at the end of the
golden era—looking as good as she sounded—
Her face should grace
Buckeye State flags emblazoned
“There will never be another you…”

…and you don’t know, you don’t know how
Glad I am that she
Hovered earth— stunning hummingbird,
gorgeous humanitarian, giving the greatest
performance of her life, moments I loitered—
not seizing the time and asking, “When did
You leave heaven?”
Though, I think it was maybe ’37? I know she’s

Free Again…

© 2018. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

Raymond Nat Turner is an acclaimed poet and performing artist. You can find much more of his work at http://upsurgejazz.com.

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


More Stories


  • The Birth of a Nation: Race and Power in Amerika
    Prince Kapone
    The Birth of a Nation: Race and Power in Amerika
    11 Dec 2019
    White supremacy is just as much a social reality as it is an ideology.
  • Freedom Rider: Abolish the Police
    Margaret Kimberley , BAR editor and senior columnist
    Freedom Rider: Abolish the Police
    11 Dec 2019
    Trump’s attorney general threatened to withdraw police “protection” from Black communities – but, of course, no such thing exists.
  • The Capitalist Crisis Has Made the U.S. a Pariah State
    Danny Haiphong, BAR Contributing Editor
    The Capitalist Crisis Has Made the U.S. a Pariah State
    11 Dec 2019
    U.S. imperialism has nothing left to offer humanity but ecological destruction, endless war, and a decline in living standards domestically and globally.
  • Should UN Peacekeepers Leave the Democratic Republic of Congo?
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Should UN Peacekeepers Leave the Democratic Republic of Congo?
    11 Dec 2019
    There was no peace to keep in the Kivu and Ituri provinces when the UN force arrived nearly 20 years ago, and there’s been none since.
  • Black Friday Blues
    BAR Poet-in-Residence Raymond Nat Turner
    Black Friday Blues
    11 Dec 2019
    Here come Black Friday, but I wanna a Green New Deal Here come Black Friday, but I wanna a Green New Deal With a whole lotta street heat just to keep it real…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us