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

The Unemployment Question(s)
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
04 Feb 2014
🖨️ Print Article

by Raymond Nat Turner

Livin’ on nothin’, while hunger works full time

No wonder, some brothers stumble into crime.

 

The Unemployment Question(s)

by Raymond Nat Turner

 

Licking bitter flaps on unemployment envelopes

somewhere under the rainbow

Lies

true hues

in bright Red,

Black

and dark Blues:

 

Drawin’ unemployment’s like drawin’ straws

Drawin’ unemployment’s like drawin’ straws

We come up short under rich folks’ laws.

 

Livin’ on nothin’, while hunger works full time

Livin’ on nothin’, while hunger works full time

No wonder, some brothers stumble into crime.

 

And the rich cry, “...crime, crime, crime” every day

And the rich cry, “...crime, crime, crime” every day

While cocaine’s trafficked by the C-I-A.

 

We been slavin’ fo’ the mastahs and what we git?

We been slavin’ fo’ the mastahs and what we git?

Stack-o-papers to fill out, askin’ dumb shit!

 

“State here the reason you’re out of work.”

“Answer the following then report to the clerk.”

“Will you accept work in your usual trade?”

“What’s your income with benefits paid?”

“Do you own a farm, or a ranch?”

“Do you have a savings? What branch?”

“Did you look for work all this past week?”

“Where did you go, with whom did you speak?”

“Are you a citizen of the U.S.?”

“If answering ‘No’, then why not ‘Yes’?”

“Have a seat and wait to be seen”

“Any questions about what we mean?”

“Anyone in line who voluntarily quit?”

“Step out — go over there and sit”

“Sorry, you can’t be seen until ten —”

 

“Provided, you fill this out for WIN...”

 

We been slavin’ fo’ the mastahs and what we git?

We been slavin’ fo’ the mastahs and what we git?

Appointment

with

revolution

When we fit…

 

Raymond Nat Turner can be contacted at upsurgejazz.com.

 

Raymond Nat Turner © 1986 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


  • Martinique protest
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Martinique's History of Resistance
    25 Oct 2024
    Roddy Rod is an anti-Kepone activist, pan-African, anti-imperialism resident of Martinique. He is also a resident of the African nation the Ivory Coast. He joins us to discuss recent protests in…
  • Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    The U.S. Continues Its Terror Campaign Against Cuba
    23 Oct 2024
    The ongoing U.S./Israeli genocide has diverted attention away from other crimes. The electricity crisis in Cuba is but one example of how the U.S. determination to dominate has created suffering…
  • Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    POEM: The Earth Is Closing On Us, Mahmoud Darwish, 1995
    23 Oct 2024
    “Where should we go after the last frontiers? Where should the birds fly after the last sky?”
  • Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    New York Times Attacks “Peace-peddling” Jill Stein as the Presidential Race Comes Down to the Wire
    23 Oct 2024
    The New York Times scapegoats Green Party presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein as polls indicate a dead heat between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.
  • Abayomi Azikiwe, Black Agenda Report Contributor
    United Nations Releases New Report on the Death of Former Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold in 1961
    23 Oct 2024
    Apparent assassination and cover-up occurred during a critical period in African history.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us