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

Declaration of Independence (for Donald "Duck" Bailey)
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
15 Jul 2026
🖨️ Print Article
Drummer

Drummer men, drummer men, fluid loose-
limbed rhythm-masters, were you born free?
Did you drum? Did you drum? Did you drum
in the womb? Did you drum in past lives?

Did you drum? Did you drum? Did you drum
out of narrow spaces? Drum out of bondage?
Did you drum? Did you drum? Did you drum
escaping captivity?

Did you drum? Did you drum? Did you drum
your way off Gore Island? Out Cape Coast Castle?
Did you drum? Did you drum? Did you drum
Glory into the swinging / Fighting 54th?

Drummer men, drummer men, fluid loose-
limbed rhythm-masters, were you born free?
Did the right hand always know perfectly well
what the left foot was doing? Did the right foot 
always know what the left hand was doing for the
combo; the big band; the village — for the world?

Drummer men, drummer men, fluid loose-
limbed rhythm-masters, were you born free?
Did you appear to teach us to tap our toes, 
snap our fingers, and relax to the Max on an axe?

Drummer men, drummer men, fluid loose-
limbed rhythm-masters, were you born free?
Did you swing and Rhythm-A-Ning across rivers cutting
Brilliant Corners … to Criss Cross deserts for freedom?


© 2026. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved. 

Music
Jazz
Donald Bailey
drumming

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
Play, Black Girl, play! (For the Oakland Public Conservatory of Music’s girls)
18 March 2026
“The music is the magic through a raging storm …”  — Abbey Lincoln Play, Black Girl, play —
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
 
a few flock notes for jaimie breezy branch
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
a few flock notes for jaimie breezy branch
07 September 2022
a few flock notes for jaimie breezy branch “The artist must elect to fight for Freedom or for Slavery” —Paul Robeson
Photo: Kevin W. Thorbourne
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Bird, strings, Big Chief: 100: Harlem (For Charlie Parker/Donald Harrison/Harlem Symphony Orchestra)
08 September 2021
Bird, strings, Big Chief: 100: Harlem (For Charlie Parker/Donald Harrison/Harlem Symphony Orchestra)  

More Stories


  • The Vote for House Speaker Obscured Democratic Treachery
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    The Vote for House Speaker Obscured Democratic Treachery
    11 Jan 2023
    House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's need for 15 rounds of voting from his party is viewed with alarm or humor. But the right wing proved that activists win if they make demands. Democrats have no members…
  • MANIFESTO: The Dakar Declaration 2022
    Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    MANIFESTO: The Dakar Declaration 2022
    11 Jan 2023
    ​​​​​​​The Dakar Declaration 2022 calls for Pan-African, South-South cooperation and global solidarity against global economic and political crisis and Africa’s adverse incorporation into the…
  • APP:  Another Pinocchio Politician
    Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    APP: Another Pinocchio Politician
    11 Jan 2023
                                                         
  • Haiti in the Age of the Ukraine Proxy War
    Danny Haiphong and Margaret Kimberley
    Haiti in the Age of the Ukraine Proxy War
    11 Jan 2023
    Black Agenda Report editors and contributors Margaret Kimberley, Danny Haiphong, and Dr. Jemima Pierre discuss what Haiti's struggles can teach us at this pivotal moment in history.
  •  BAR Book Forum: Damien M. Sojoyner’s Book, “Joy and Pain”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Damien M. Sojoyner’s Book, “Joy and Pain”
    11 Jan 2023
    This week’s featured author is Damien M. Sojoyner. Sojoyner is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Irvine. His book is Joy and Pain: A Story of Black Life and…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us