by Raymond Nat Turner
Tic-Tac-Toe, X versus O
Shrewd black buck dancer
O a cancer— X an answer
Malcolm X Tic-Tac-Toe in the Age of…Austerity?
by Raymond Nat Turner
Vertical, diagonal, horizontal moves
Of Malcolm X, martyr, giant, live on
Like simple grid, paper and pencil games
Of Noughts and Crosses, 3-in-a-row—
Tic-Tac-Toe in the age of… Austerity
X, like exciting, expanding, extending,
X, like exalting, exemplary, example,
Excelling, exceeding— revolutionary as
Exponential, unlimited—far as you dare!
O, as in hollow, phony, posture, nothing!
O as diversion, like COINTELPRO, Psy-
Op or false consciousness like blue-collar
Workers masquerading as middle-class!
3-in-a-row, X versus O
Tic-Tac-Toe, X versus O
Shrewd black buck dancer
O a cancer— X an answer!
Africom boots on the Congo
Banksters bagging big dough
Mother Africa their hoe
A peculiar quid pro quo
Slaves cheering status quo
Their beer full of GMO—
Madison Avenue mojo!
3-in-a-row, X versus O
Tic-Tac-Toe, X versus O
Shrewd black buck dancer
O a cancer— X an answer!
Negroz go pianissimo
Fiery X’s blocked by O,
Rich white house Negro,
Attorney Generalissimo
Super of Guantanamo
Teachers rise against O
Working-class Tic-Tac-Toe!
3-in-a-row, X versus O
Tic-Tac-Toe, X versus O
Shrewd black buck dancer
O a cancer— X an answer!
Raymond Nat Turner can be contacted at upsurgejazz.com.
Raymond Nat Turner © 2013 All Rights Reserved
"Operation Piracy or Pedophile Protection, mates?" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence.
Jake Paul’s ascent in boxing is a cultural symptom of an empire in decline. It reflects a country that now prefers empty spectacle over real strength, both in sports and on the world stage.
To dismiss revolutionary theory is to choose permanent defeat, reducing the movement to a hamster wheel of reaction and co-opted rage.
Preserving the Black Radical Tradition demands struggle not only against white supremacists, but also against the co-opted Black political class who actively support the very evils Dr. King named.
Africans in the U.S. must weaponize their position and sabotage imperial projects from the inside. Black revolutionaries must modify traditional strategy.
