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

If ACE Was The Place
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
28 Feb 2012
šŸ–Øļø Print Article

by Raymond Nat Turner

If those who rule really wanted kids to be Aces in life, they wouldn't rig the decks.

If ACE Was The Place

Bake sales and raffles are

Fun, yet twisted inversions,

If five-sided operations

Are four part pyramid schemes…

If ACE was the place,

Sole supplier of weapons

For waging ā€œwar on terrorā€”ā€

On the cheap—

Shipper of mirrors and razors

To Warlords of Wall Street and

Washington—mirrors for finding

Terrorists unerringly, and razors

For doing the right thing: surgically

Taking out, sans collateral damage,

Reflections threatening our planet…

If ACE was the place,

Then, maybe, we could develop

Cheryl Wilson Weapons Systems for

Wrapping arms securely around

Children entering the schoolyard,

And spraying them with friendly

Fire, with report resembling praise—

Weapons launching tutors at Ayat,

4th grader from Yemen, instead of

Hellfire Missiles from drones

If ACE was the place…

If ACE was the place,

Then, maybe, we could construct

Jeanette Gearring Weapons Systems for

Spying on students making super choices,

Doing good deeds during the day, and

Automatically charging them with being

Caught In The Act?

If ACE was the place…

If ACE was the place,

Then, maybe, we could assemble

Angelica Perez Weapon Systems for

Plotting strategies for increasing

Jonah’s reading fluency, and

Recognizing the twins, Brooke and

Jasmin, without retina scans?

If ACE was the place…

If ACE was the place,

Then, maybe, we could forge

Juan Zuniga Weapons Systems for

Listening in on conversations in

Angel’s belly, and providing food

With no oil, or strings attached…

If ACE was the place…

If ACE was the place,

Then, maybe, we could manufacture

More weapons of mass instruction

For Farmer Ben and Chef Kathy

For the war on Colonel Sanders,

Popeye, Jack, and Ronald McDonald?

If ACE was the place…

If ACE was the place,

Then, maybe, we could produce the next

Generation of Julie Venuto Weapons for

Launching IEPs, RTIs and other artillery

Supporting Special Forces, armed with

Love and commitment to Janvier, Danny,

Dalia, Sophia, Emeline, Michael and Elijah—

Like teachers Clementina, Chris, Rita, and Sian?

If ACE was the place…

If ACE was the place,

Then, maybe, we could construct

Lorna Cross Weapons Systems for

Coordinating Joint Operations with Henderson’s

4th division in invading San Francisco by BART,

Or Yellow busses, and occupying Mission Dolores

More often?

If ACE was the place…

If ACE was the place,

Then, maybe, we could assemble

Yusef Auletta Weapons Systems for

Graduating, rather than assassinating,

Ayat’s sister, the 5th grader, Mandal

If ACE was the place…

Then, maybe, we could develop

Cheryl Wilson Weapons Systems for

Marshalling ever more extraordinary

Renditions, like Aguas, Argueta and

Aulleta— a few good A’s—

If ACE was the place…

Raymond Nat Turner Ā© 2012 All Rights Reserved

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


More Stories


  • Arturo Dominguez
    The Racism Behind the Cuban Hardliner Stance
    18 Feb 2026
    Racism explains the disconnect between influential Cuban American voices and the majority population of Cuba.
  • Rosa Miriam Elizalde
    Cuba. Option Zero
    18 Feb 2026
    Fidel Castro warned of a scenario in which Cuba would have zero oil, zero imports, and zero outside assistance. That contingency plan is no longer theoretical. It's being implemented in real life by…
  • Julia Kassem
    ā€˜Israel’: The Glue That Pieces Together the Maxwell-Epstein Saga
    18 Feb 2026
    Julia Kassem argues the Maxwell–Epstein saga is best understood through the lens of Israeli intelligence networks, tracing a continuity of espionage, blackmail, and media influence from Robert…
  • BAR Radio Logo
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio February 13, 2026
    13 Feb 2026
    In this week’s segment, we discuss conditions in Libya, the forces behind the assassination of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, and the struggle to regain sovereignty after the 2011 US/NATO destruction of that…
  • Dockworkers strike
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Chris Smalls on the Dock Worker Actions in Solidarity with Palestine
    13 Feb 2026
    Chris Smalls is the founder of the Amazon Labor Union, the first independent worker-led union in the US and the first to successfully organize an Amazon warehouse. He joins us from London to discuss…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us