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


  • Hanna Eid
    Pan-Americanism and Internationalism
    26 Nov 2025
    The official rationale for a new U.S. military operation against Venezuela is narcotics, but the true objective remains regime change. This escalating conflict demands a robust anti-imperialist…
  • El Jones
    Disturbing the Peace
    26 Nov 2025
    El Jones presents the poem "Disturbing the Peace," written for the protest at the Halifax International Security Forum, November 22, 2025.
  • Roger D. Harris
    Venezuela Under Siege: A Hundred Deaths at Sea – Hundreds of Thousands by Sanctions
    26 Nov 2025
    Washington is targeting the Venezuelan people in an escalating regime-change offensive, combining open military violence with an economic siege that has already claimed thousands of lives.
  • BAR Radio Logo
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio November 21, 2025
    21 Nov 2025
    In this week’s segment, we discuss a march to support Mumia Abu Jamal and all political and elder prisoners. But first, we hear about the latest climate change conference, COP30, and the limits of…
  • Cop 30
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    COP30 and the Failure of the Climate Conference Process
    21 Nov 2025
    The latest United Nations climate change conference, COP30, recently took place in Belem, Brazil. A people’s counter summit was also held, attended by indigenous Brazilians, Afro-Descendants, and…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us