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


  • Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright
    Basis for Climate and Environmental Liberation
    05 Nov 2025
    A movement born from radical action now risks being defanged by racism and elite capture. As the climate crisis continues to grow, the only viable path is a radical struggle for climate and…
  • Kwabena Dennot Nyack
    Grenada – Forward Ever: The Caribbean as a Zone of Peace
    05 Nov 2025
    Grenada's revolution was a brief and brilliant moment that was undone by errors and U.S. intervention. Its legacy must be remembered as the U.S. continues to violate the sovereignty of nations in the…
  • ​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist
    Fascism Born in the Colonies, Not Europe
    05 Nov 2025
    Europe refined fascism in its colonies long before bringing the model home.
  • Adele Robichez , José Eduardo Bernardes , Larissa Bohrer
    Brazilian Lawmaker From the Landless Rural Workers’ Movement Demands Investigation of “Planned Massacre” That Left 121 Dead
    05 Nov 2025
    The lawmaker states that Governor Cláudio Castro’s operation was “a massacre carried out in secret” and calls for an independent forensic investigation.
  • Roger McKenzie
    The Devastation in Melissa’s Wake and the ‘new normal’
    05 Nov 2025
    Hurricanes might have natural causes, but the tragedy that follows is entirely human-made and a consequence of capitalist greed, asserts Roger McKenzie.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us