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 a young labor leader leading by example
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
13 Aug 2025
đŸ–šïž Print Article
Chris Smalls
Democracy NOW

“The future of labor is the future of America.”  
                                  —John L. Lewis

When butchers boarded in 
International waters—
Drenching our screens scarlet with blood lust
Bankrolled by our treasure—despite our oceans of tears 


When buccaneers boarded in
International waters— 
And laughed at lawful orders to stand down. To not
Kidnap, shanghai, pressgang peace activists aboard

When freebooters boarded in
International waters—
Shocking shoulder-to-shoulder, back-to-back body
Language greeted them: “Hands up, don’t shoot!”

When pariah state pirates boarded in
International waters— 
Gold doubloons disappeared and became baby formula,
Diapers, stuffed animals, and assorted hygiene supplies

When scurvy bigots boarded in 
International waters—
We prayed against ‘sand-nigger’ servings of rifle-butts; and other
DEI (Death Emaciation Injury) ‘perks,’ hourly granted Palestinians

When bellicose ship wreckers boarded in 
International waters— 
We held historical breaths. Imagined a U.S. traffic
Stop. Militant Black labor leader shot on the spot!

Alas, our young labor leader’s home! Life uncrushed like cigarette butt— by
Bulldozer. Un-pierced by whistling sniper’s bullet. Home, warehousing curses,
Taunts, knees, blows— pitiful— feeble in hand-to-hand combat with hands of
Time 


© 2025. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

Raymond Nat Turner is a NYC poet, BAR's Poet-in-Residence, and founder/co-leader of the jazz-poetry ensemble UpSurge!NYC. You can vote for his work at GoFundMe and PayPal.

labor
Christian Smalls
Palestine
Gaza
Israel
humanitarian

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


Related Stories

Glen Ford , BAR executive editor
9/11 and the Great American Decline
09 September 2026
The Bush administration had long planned a global war for U.S.
J.C. Hallman , Keaton Ross
Who's Calling?
09 September 2026
Oklahoma prison inmates were making political calls for a conservative Super PAC during the primary.
Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright
U.S. Support of Israel is Absolutely an Issue of Affordability and Economic Populism
So Why Won’t the Democrats Discuss it as Such?
29 July 2026
The Democratic Party's continued support for Israel's genocide is not just a moral and political liability but also an economic one w
Gary Wilson
House Votes to Lock Israel Into U.S. War Machine for Wider War
29 July 2026
The House voted to permanently merge the U.S. and Israeli militaries. Israel has some control over the U.S.
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
Lindsey Graham Was the Face of the Duopoly
15 July 2026
The late Senator Lindsey Graham played the role of chief congressional warmonger very well.
Kit Klarenberg
Exclusive: Fergie Chambers Facing US Extradition Over Dubious ‘terrorism financing’ Charges
15 July 2026
The Grayzone has reviewed a sealed indictment for pro-Palestine donor Fergie Chambers, who was arrested in Spain on dubious money laundering ch
Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
Could Wemby Become the Conscience of the NBA?
24 June 2026
NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama grapples with the times we’re living in, even as his career takes off.
Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
When the Revolution Comes
17 June 2026
Chris Smalls and his best friend, Derrick Palmer, led the first successful drive to unionize an Amazon warehouse.
Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright
Big D Dysfunction: Why The Democrat Party’s Latest Comedy of Errors is a Tragedy of Strategy 
27 May 2026
The party that installed its presidential candidate without a primary vote now blames its 2024 loss on everything except its own cont
Sherronda J. Brown , Tea Troutman , Aarohi Sheth
May Day: Exporting the Southern Plantocracy
06 May 2026
The South has always been the region where the most exploitative labor practices are tested first.

More Stories


  • China's 12-Point Peace Plan Is As Much About Ending Aggression Toward China As It Is About Ending The War In Ukraine
    Jacqueline Luqman
    China's 12-Point Peace Plan Is As Much About Ending Aggression Toward China As It Is About Ending The War In Ukraine
    08 Mar 2023
    China laid out 12 principles which could be a means of ending the conflict in Ukraine. The principles are based in international law and the belief in peaceful co-existence among nations,

  • Travels Through El PerĂș Profundo
    Clau O'Brien Moscoso
    Travels Through El PerĂș Profundo
    08 Mar 2023
    The people of Peru continue to protest the coup which ousted President Pedro Castillo Terrones. Clau O'Brien Moscoso reports from Peru.
  • How the U.S. and Canada are Wooing Latin America and the Caribbean to Front for their Plan to Invade Haiti
    Travis Ross
    How the U.S. and Canada are Wooing Latin America and the Caribbean to Front for their Plan to Invade Haiti
    08 Mar 2023
    The U.S. and Canada are using Caribbean and Latin nations to act as fronts, willing dupes, in their plans for the next occupation of Haiti. Travis Ross explains in the second of a three-part report.
  • Why the Huwwara Pogrom was Inevitable
    Maureen Clare Murphy
    Why the Huwwara Pogrom was Inevitable
    08 Mar 2023
    The attack by Israeli settlers on the town of Hawwara was no aberration. It was just one example of the violence inherent in an apartheid state.
  • Reconciliation Does Not Mean Forgetting in Nicaragua
    Jill Clark-Gollub
    Reconciliation Does Not Mean Forgetting in Nicaragua
    08 Mar 2023
    It is important to understand the truth about the 222 people recently released to the US who were convicted of treason in Nicaragua for savage acts of violence against their people.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us