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
  • omnibus

Lakers/Warriors; And Knicks/Heat
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
17 May 2023
 Lakers/Warriors; And Knicks/Heat
1987 Lakers (Photo: Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images)

                                                                                   Lakers/Warriors; And Knicks/Heat

 

It’s fun falling into fantasy lands. Fun watching sweaty,
dripping wet, teamwork of nephew-grandson men! Brisk
Passing/sharing! Rebounding missed shots! Chasing down
loose balls…

It’s fun escaping School Shooting of The Day—and
War of the Week!
Fun forgetting Pentagon Parties, Pinocchio politicians
and their elephant excrement-donkey dung $campaigns

It’s fun purchasing ‘personal’ pizzas, local pizza place,
and metaphor-watching with working-class ‘strangers!’
Fun following brown round ball whizzing crosscourt;
‘round keys; secretly daydreaming the politically ‘impossible’

It’s fun removing my mind from War House! From W-Drone
Ranger-Boss Tweet-Ol’ Schmo biz. Off sleazy senators, corrupt
congressmen infesting Capitalist Hill. It’s fun forgetting grand
dragon governors and 4th quarter comebacks by confederates

It’s fun watching furious fast breaks of great Jazz quintets—
playing “I can’t breathe!” bent backs; hands on knees—
Substitutions and timeouts… It’s fun when “Hands up, don’t
Shoot!” is ‘bout blocking shots—Not autopsies, flowers, funerals.

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.

sports
Black Sports; Politics

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


Related Stories

Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
BAR Book Forum: Nathan Kalman-Lamb and Derek Silva’s Book, “The End of College Football”
06 November 2024
In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book.
OJ Simpson at his trial
Gus Griffin
O.J. Simpson and Understanding the Black Support He Never Deserved
17 April 2024
O.J.
Colin Kaepernick
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
The Karma of Kap or curse of capitalism??
21 February 2024
The Karma of Kap or curse of capitalism??
Yes! An NFL Player Can Be Exploited
Gus Griffin
Yes! An NFL Player Can Be Exploited
23 August 2023
Michael Oher’s story of exploitation is even worse than the white savior narrative presented by Hollywood.
The Super Bowl and the Trouble with First Black Symbolism
Gus Griffin
The Super Bowl and the Trouble with First Black Symbolism
08 February 2023
Whether Super Bowl quarterbacks, or presidents, or police chiefs, unquestioned admiration of the "first Black" should come to an end.
BAR Book Forum “Sports and Black Struggle”: Interview with Dewitt King
Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
BAR Book Forum “Sports and Black Struggle”: Interview with Dewitt King
21 September 2022
In this feature, we interview organizers, journalists, scholars, and athletes working at the intersection of sports and Black struggle. 
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 July 2022
In this feature, we interview organizers, journalists, scholars, and athletes working at the intersection of sports and Black struggle.
BAR Book Forum “Sports and Black Struggle”: Interview with Samantha N. Sheppard
Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
BAR Book Forum “Sports and Black Struggle”: Interview with Samantha N. Sheppard
30 March 2022
This week, we interview Samantha N. Sheppard. Samantha N.
BAR Book Forum: Jessica Luther and Kavitha A. Davidson’s “Loving Sports When They Don't Love You Back”
Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
BAR Book Forum: Jessica Luther and Kavitha A. Davidson’s “Loving Sports When They Don't Love You Back”
01 December 2021
In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book.
“Things that Make White People Uncomfortable”: A Book Review
Ann Garrison , BAR contributor
“Things that Make White People Uncomfortable”: A Book Review
06 March 2019
Michael Bennett tells it like he sees it in his new book, and shows with fine literary flair that he’s never acclimated to the NFL plantation.

More Stories


  • Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    The Necessity of Birthright Citizenship for Black People
    02 Jul 2025
    Black citizenship was non-existent for the first 200 years that enslaved and free people were present in what became the United States. Even long-standing legal victories are tenuous, and now…
  • Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    ESSAY: Black Refugees Unwelcomed! Gaou Guinou Balewa, 1973
    02 Jul 2025
    “Haitian refugees and political exiles find themselves being refused the hospitality granted others.”
  • Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Aggressors Unnamed in Rwanda-DRC “Peace Agreement”
    02 Jul 2025
    The U.S.-brokered 'peace deal' between Rwanda and the DRC whitewashes Rwanda’s occupation and M23 militia crimes.
  • Jon Jeter
    Mamdani’s Train is Running But Blacks Wonder if There is Space for Them
    02 Jul 2025
    Zohran Mamdani’s Harlem socialist vision won NYC’s primary but lost Black voters to scandal-plagued Cuomo by 20 points, exposing the left’s racial blind spot even as Wall Street prepares to spend…
  • Maurice Carney
    Donald Trump’s Congo Venture: A Scramble for Minerals Under the Guise of Peace
    02 Jul 2025
    Trump’s ‘peace deal’ between Rwanda and the DRC is a corporate resource grab disguised as diplomacy, rewarding Rwandan war crimes while U.S. investors stake claims to Congo’s coltan mines. This…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us