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 and Ol’ blak Schmo
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
12 Aug 2020
🖨️ Print Article
My Wise Country Cousin and Ol’ blak Schmo
My Wise Country Cousin and Ol’ blak Schmo

I came in de room wit
mah head bent low
pretendin’ defrenz to Ol’ blak Schmo.
Sekrit Servuz say, “Boy, if’n you ain’t
in no emediyit dangur
Here’s Vinyurd Travelin’ Papurs— 
see de Drone Rangur…”

I jes’ stan dere red hot, an’ Blak
as a Crow—
I say, “ No, suh, I ‘se here to see
Ol’ blak Schmo…”

Den, I talks to Ol’ blak Schmo—
he a white man but he know
Bes’ what it is to be Blak—
an’ he tolt me, “Git on bak!”

Finully I axe Ol’ blak Schmo
Jus’ what it is to be Blak— 
Ha-ha, he laff, an’ den say,
“Difrunz ‘tween powdur an’ crak!”

An’ den he say, “Fus you gotta Vote
fo’ me—Den go on bak ta sleep…
Keep yo’ moufs shut an ern yo’ keep!”

Secun, “Y’all git on back in ya seats! 
Ya gotta stay outta Dem damn streets—
keep y’all’s blak asses out ob Dem streets;
Quit all ob dat ol’ votin’ wit yo’ feets!”

Thurd, wen de poleez kill anotha
nigga, lemme bring ‘em to de 
Rows Gardun fo’ beer an’ a gud talkin’ to
dat otha lives might maddur besize Blu?
Wen de poleez rape a gal in de bak seet ob dey car
lemme bring ‘em here fo’ beer—an’ maybe we spar?
Wen de poleez frame a man an’ sen’ him off to jail
lemme bring ‘em here fo’ beer—dey's too big to fail…

© 2020. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

BAR’s poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner is an accomplished performing artist. You can find much more of his work at http://upsurgejazz.com  .

COMMENTS?

Please join the conversation on Black Agenda Report's Facebook page at http://facebook.com/blackagendareport

Or, you can comment by emailing us at comments@blackagendareport.com

poetry

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


Related Stories

Editors, The Black Agenda Review
POEM: Poem for Walter Rodney, Edward Kamau Brathwaite, 1981  
11 June 2025
“any where or world where there is love there is the sky and its blue free
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
A few lines for the Poet Ojenke...
21 May 2025
RIP: Rise In Poetics to Ra
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
POEM: Reflections after the June 12th March of Disarmament, Sonia Sanchez, 1982
18 December 2024
“I have come to you tonite not just for the stoppage
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Love My Black Job
11 September 2024
Love my Black Job— Black Student Union Job! Hired at L.A. City College As “The Peoples Poet!”
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
POEM: Enemy of the Sun, Samih al-Qasim, 1970
29 May 2024
Read against the terrible incineration of Rafah today, this poem of resistance and refusal, by Pa
Image of Refaat Alareer sitting in a crowd of graduates
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
POEM: If I Must Die, Refaat Alareer, 2023
13 December 2023
Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer, a martyr of zionist state genocidal violence, has left us with a tale of resistance and hope.
Protest for Palestine at the White House
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Trigger Warning
22 November 2023
Trigger Warning Palestine’s the Answer— What was the Question?
Another June 1
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Another June 1
07 June 2023
                                       
BAR Book Forum: Jon Jon Moore’s “The Calling: Poems”
Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
BAR Book Forum: Jon Jon Moore’s “The Calling: Poems”
16 February 2022
In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book.
Our ‘democracy’
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Our ‘democracy’
23 July 2021
Shangri-La—untaxed, socially-distanced champagne- caviar, Cayman Island, yacht crowds who

More Stories


  • On African Liberation Day, the Black Alliance for Peace Demands U.S. Shut Down AFRICOM
    Black Alliance For Peace
    On African Liberation Day, the Black Alliance for Peace Demands U.S. Shut Down AFRICOM
    27 May 2020
    The US Military Command in Africa allows Washington and its European allies to dominate the continent and its resources.
  • Letters from Our Readers 
    Jahan Choudhry BAR Comments Editor
    Letters from Our Readers 
    27 May 2020
    Recently, readers have been discussing democratic socialists, American exceptionalism, and identity politics.
  • BAR Book Forum: Vincent Brown’s “Tacky’s Revolt”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Vincent Brown’s “Tacky’s Revolt”
    27 May 2020
    The Jamaican slave revolt of 1760-1761 was one war within an interlinked network of other wars.
  • BAR Book Forum: Symposium on Sarah Haley’s "No Mercy Here" 
    Rhondda Robinson Thomas
    BAR Book Forum: Symposium on Sarah Haley’s "No Mercy Here" 
    27 May 2020
    In white patriarchy-ruled South Carolina at the turn of the 20th century, manhood sometimes created temporary yet tenuous bonds between Black and white men.
  • Haiti’s Revolutions and Revisions: An Interview with Charles Forsdick and Christian Høgsbjerg
    The Public Archive
    Haiti’s Revolutions and Revisions: An Interview with Charles Forsdick and Christian Høgsbjerg
    27 May 2020
    Toussaint stressed that freedom was something that had to be fought for and taken from below by the masses themselves.  ​​​​​​​
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us