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

‘Anarchist jurisdiction’ State of Mind…
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
30 Sep 2020
🖨️ Print Article
‘Anarchist jurisdiction’ State of Mind…
‘Anarchist jurisdiction’ State of Mind…

Some thugs like to 
Lie all day—

strip our rights away,

make The People pay,
Chanting, “U-S-A…!”
Hopping flights of fantasy
for the greedy bourgeoisie
And the confederacy—
But we’re taking an
Anti-fascist stand:
‘Cause we’re in an
‘Anarchist jurisdiction’ 
State of Mind…

It seems so easy
Lying day to day—
stripping our rights away,
making The People pay,
Chanting, “U-S-A…!”
Out of touch with the 
Peoples’ pain and need—
Protecting all crimes 
of billionaire greed—
But we’re taking an
Anti-fascist stand:
‘Cause we’re in an
‘Anarchist jurisdiction’ 
State of Mind…

We’ve seen enough of 
all the nazi stars,
all the lawless czars
And the cult of death
of a bungling Bleach Regime—
Mengele Medicine Team—
We can’t afford to waste more
Time—before we ORGANIZE—
Figuring out how we will rise 
to Make the Rich Pay!

Poet’s note: Inspired by the great Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind”

© 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

Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Army of Artists (For My Friend Horace Silver)
17 December 2025
Harmony of a hug,Rhythm of a rose,Melody in the mirror
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!”
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
MrJoeSam’s Text Messages
12 June 2024
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR’s poet-in-residence, pays homage to San Francisco’s shipyard artist JoeSam who died peacefully on June 1, 2024, surroun
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
Raymond Nat Turner
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Dis-honest Broker
01 May 2024
"Dis-honest Broker" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence, recently performed at UpSurge!
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Raymond Nat Turner at the UpSurge Jazz Celebration
03 April 2024
 
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.

More Stories


  • EDITORIAL: Down with the Bestial Atrocities Against Blacks in Buffalo, New York! 1980
    Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    EDITORIAL: Down with the Bestial Atrocities Against Blacks in Buffalo, New York! 1980
    13 Jul 2022
    As a 1980 editorial in the Buffalo Worker’s Voice recounts, the recent whitesupremacist violence in Buffalo has a long history. This history should not be forgotten.
  • An Open Letter to His Excellency, Mr. Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), President of Mexico, on the Renewal of the UN Occupation of Haiti
    Black Alliance for Peace
    An Open Letter to His Excellency, Mr. Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), President of Mexico, on the Renewal of the UN Occupation of Haiti
    13 Jul 2022
    The United Nations occupation of Haiti under MINUSTAH and BINUH brought instability, violence and even cholera to that nation. Signatories of an open letter to Mexico's president Lopez Obrador remind…
  • NATO and Africa
    Djibo Sobukwe
    NATO and Africa
    13 Jul 2022
    Djibo Sobukwe participated in a Canadian Foreign Policy Institute panel, "NATO and Global Empire" on June 30, 2022. These are his remarks on NATO and Africa.
  • BAR Book Forum: Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni’s Book, “Epistemic Freedom in Africa”
    Roberto Sirvent
    BAR Book Forum: Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni’s Book, “Epistemic Freedom in Africa”
    13 Jul 2022
    This week’s featured author is Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni. Dr. Ndlovu-Gatsheni is Chair of Epistemologies of the Global South, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and Vice-Dean: Research, Africa…
  • BAR Book Forum “Sports and Black Struggle”: Interview with Courtney M. Cox
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum “Sports and Black Struggle”: Interview with Courtney M. Cox
    13 Jul 2022
    This week, we interview Courtney Cox. Dr. Courtney M. Cox is an assistant professor in the Department of Indigenous, Race, and Ethnic Studies at the University of Oregon. Her research examines issues…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us