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

Shinobu, is this what solidarity looks like? 
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
31 Mar 2021
🖨️ Print Article
Shinobu, is this what solidarity looks like? 
Shinobu, is this what solidarity looks like? 

Now, I wasn’t Yuri Kochiyama
amidst toppled chairs, gun smoke
scented chaos, cradling Malcolm’s
heavy head on the Audubon Ballroom 
floor as his double ought buck shot 
pocked chest oozed ruby rivulets…

I arrived at the Asian elder split
second after the unmusical thud
of his head hitting concrete—after he’d missed
the curb, stumbled and fallen on 14th/Broadway

I didn’t worry whether or not scarlet streaming
from his temple was HIV or Hep C tainted; I didn’t
Worry whether or not some right turn-making, out
of control driver would wipe us out; I didn’t worry
about an out of the blue lawsuit; I didn’t worry about
Blu klux klansmen seeing me; seeing blood; Seeing
me; seeing blood; seeing me kneeling beside the Asian elder—
My magic gun—seeing me rifling his pockets robbing him…

I worried about napkins and bandaids in my backpack 
being sterile—or not sterile
I worried about speaking softly as I stanched crimson
streaming from his temple
I worried about being in over my head—and just then I
spotted EMT and asked an onlooker to flag them down

He did. And they came; they saw; praising preliminary
Work and taking over. No sirens. No flashing red, white
blue and yellow party lights. No yellow tape theater. No 
surly sauntering for overtime. No gruff barking. No dis-
respect. No baton blows. No frame-up. No dead samaritan.
No violence workers—I could breathe and leave High… 

© 2021. 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 https://www.youtube.com/user/zigilow

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 

Anti-Asian Hate

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


Related Stories

Freedom Rider: Establishment Role in Anti-Asian Bigotry
Margaret Kimberley, BAR senior columnist
Freedom Rider: Establishment Role in Anti-Asian Bigotry
24 March 2021
Joe Biden is no better than Trump in advocating de facto white supremacy with his foreign policy, and corporate media fan the flames of anti-Chines
The Answer to Anti-Asian Racism Is Not More Policing
Kayla Hui
The Answer to Anti-Asian Racism Is Not More Policing
24 March 2021
More policing rarely results in justice for anyone, and only puts Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color (BIPOC), including Asian people

More Stories


  • Pentagon Doesn’t Know If It Trained Burkina Faso Coup Leader
    Nick Turse
    Pentagon Doesn’t Know If It Trained Burkina Faso Coup Leader
    12 Oct 2022
    Captain Ibrahim Traore deposed the last man who overthrew the previous government — Lt. Col. Sandaogo Damiba — who did extensive training with the U.S. Africa Command, AFRICOM.
  • Imperialist Militarism and the African Crisis
    Abayomi Azikiwe
    Imperialist Militarism and the African Crisis
    12 Oct 2022
    The U.S. Africa Command, AFRICOM, and all iterations of foreign interference bring instability to the African continent. 
  • Sanctioning the Horn of Africa
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor , John Philpot
    Sanctioning the Horn of Africa
    07 Oct 2022
    Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia have suffered from a variety of U.S. interventions over many years. Proxy wars and unilateral coercive measures, sanctions, are the tools used to prevent these nations…
  • Black Agenda Radio October 7, 2022
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio October 7, 2022
    07 Oct 2022
    A national survey reveals that the criminal justice system neglects the needs of crime survivors, an October 19, 2022 hearing determines whether Mumia Abu Jamal may be able to appeal his conviction,…
  • Criminal Justice System Does Not Meet the Needs of Crime Survivors
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Criminal Justice System Does Not Meet the Needs of Crime Survivors
    07 Oct 2022
    Aswad Thomas is Vice President of the Alliance for Safety and Justice. He joins us from Atlanta to discuss the Alliance’s recently released report, Crime Survivors Speak: A National Survey of Victims…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us