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

Trigger Warning
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
22 Nov 2023
🖨️ Print Article
Protest for Palestine at the White House
Protest for Palestine at the White House (Photo: Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters)

Trigger Warning

Palestine’s the
Answer—
What was the
Question?

Why the red line in the tan sand—splitting the
World into irreconcilable camps? Oppressed-
oppressors; Exploited-exploiters; haves-Have nots?
Why the flashing cherry red moral lights—Demanding
Decisive Action—NOW?

Why siren urgency of squawking shofars? Of searing
saxophones? Why are anti-genocide guerrillas riding
in the moment? Improvising like Jazz Masters? Rallying
Scorched earth actions— cutting off Business As Usual
Choke-points?

Why the occupations of great train stations? The re-routing of rail-
roads? Why the blocking of bridges? Why are ports being held hostage—
From the Hudson to the Pacific? Why the sit-ins in offices of Lilliputians
posing as lionized leaders? Why are corrupt congress members’ and
sleazy senators’ steer manure messages being blown out of the water?
Why are Moby Dick-sized lies of bought and bossed windbags getting
Shot down…. one-by-one?

Why do Hellfire Missiles of murderous, mustard seed-hearted men
incinerate our holiness? Coat our hearts with white phosphorus?
Strangle our souls?
Killing us softly with their
Wars?

Palestine’s the
Answer—
What was the
Question?
 

Š 2023. 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.

Palestine
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

Belen Fernandez
Israel’s Lebanese Land Grab
21 October 2026
Under the guise of a farcical “pilot zone” project to restore Lebanon’s sovereignty, Israel is pursuing a scorched-earth strategy whi
Gerald Perreira
October 7, 2023: The day that changed the world
21 October 2026
October 7, 2023, was not an isolated attack, but the culmination of generations of Palestinian imprisonment and resistance in Gaza, comparable
Edward Rhymes
What Changes For Palestine?
21 October 2026
Disregard for Palestinian rights is a feature of Israeli politics rather than a bug.
Dr. M. Reza Behnam
Three Years of Genocide: How ‘Never Again’ Lost Meaning in Gaza
07 October 2026
If international law and justice are buried in the rubble of Gaza, the global community will ultimately be digging its own grave.
Sami Al-Arian
Why Hamas believed the status quo was more dangerous than its 7 October gamble
07 October 2026
Three years into Israel's genocide in Gaza, the consequences of a decision driven by siege, settlement expansion, and assaults on Al-Aqsa are s
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
Defending a Non-Existent International Law
30 September 2026
The Hague Group’s goal is to “. . .
Roberta Rivolta
Western Activism and the Axis of Resistance
23 September 2026
Western pro-Palestinian activism isolates Palestine from its regional allies, depoliticizing its struggle and reinforcing colonial
Dhoruba bin-Wahad
Guardian Foray: All That's Not Real Is Camouflage
09 September 2026
An Open Letter from the American "Left" allegedly on behalf of unnamed persons said to be Iranian political prisoners has provided co
Libertad para Fergie
Free Fergie Chambers: Solidarity Is Not a Crime
09 September 2026
Fergie Chambers is an American philanthropist who was arrested on July 10 in Ibiza, Spain, by order of the Trump Administration.
Anti-Imperialist Scholars Collective
AISC Red Paper #2: The Multiple Fronts of Iranian Anti-Imperialism
26 August 2026
The Anti-Imperialist Scholars Collective (AISC) offers an analysis of the Ramadan War and the multiple fronts of Iranian anti- imperi

More Stories


  • Venezuelan protest against sanctions
    Roger D. Harris
    Why the US Is Reimposing Sanctions on Venezuela
    07 Feb 2024
    The United States once again failed in its attempt to force regime change in Venezuela and extinguish the growth of socialism in South America. Therefore, it reverted to its old and unsuccessful…
  • Ariel Henry and William Ruto
    Rezo Nodwes
    Kenya Ignores Court Order to Join Occupation of Haiti
    07 Feb 2024
    Kenya’s police deployment to Haiti and the spurious claim of "reciprocity", knowingly and willfully promoted by Ariel Henry, William Ruto, and others, is in flagrant violation of the National Police…
  • Protester in support of the Alliance of Sahelian States
    David Broder
    African Unity Can’t Take Place on France’s Terms
    07 Feb 2024
    Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger pulled out of the West African economic union ECOWAS, in major blow to the regional integration project and rejection of Emmanuel Macron’s efforts to…
  • Area in Gaza after bombing
    Abdulla Moaswes
    The Epistemicide of the Palestinians: Israel Destroys Pillars of Knowledge
    07 Feb 2024
    The genocide in Gaza includes the calculated destruction of Palestinian intellectual labor and knowledge producing institutions, part of Israel's larger colonial strategy of epistemological…
  • Black Agenda Radio
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio February 2, 2024
    02 Feb 2024
    In this week's segment we discuss abolishing slavery in the incarceration system, election year politics, and the recent attack on a U.S. drone base in Jordan.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us