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

…In his head
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
10 Mar 2014
🖨️ Print Article

by Raymond Nat Turner

Dr. King’s Dream come true,

In his head! Black folks way better

Off, in his head, Rev. Wright was

Wrong, in his head!

 

…In his head

by Raymond Nat Turner

 

Headin’ downtown on the D train

The other day I overheard oration—

By a fella, to a fella, from a fella 51/50

“Mexicans takin’ our jobs; they hate

Our freedoms— but blurred lines,

Beyonce’s booty, NAACP Image

Awards, Robin Thicke & recovery

Jus’ roun’ the corner; smart phone,

Dr. Dre headphones lift me outta

Poverty; smart bombs protect my

Freedoms; I got 2,000 Facebook

Friends, a poke away, who gimme

My kidney & bone marrow transplant!”

 

Booming baritone thundering in

Harmony with the train, he continued

His melodious, rhythmic catechism,

“Since ’08 things been Great,” in his

Head, Dr. King’s Dream come true,

In his head! Black folks way better

Off, in his head, Rev. Wright was

Wrong, in his head! “Yes, we can,”

In his head, mo’ Black folks have

Homes since World War II, in his

Head! Mo’ Black wealth than ever

Before, in his head; fewer Black folk

Dyin’ fo’ they 70th, in his head; mo’

Black men goin’ to college than jail,

In his head, liars figure but figures

Don’t lie, in his head, in his head,

“Change we can believe in,” in his

Head, police stopped shootin’ us

Since that beer, in his head; we

Cool, long as Big Brother brown, in

His head! Oratory swelling like a

Dark cumulus cloud, lookin’ me

Dead in the eye, “This election the

Mos’ important election ever…”

 

“The rich say that every time,” I snapped.

He leapt up like a man possessed, banshee-

Rebel- wailing, “What, you ain’t votin’?

Nigger, get away from me, you is cra-aaa-zy!”

 

Raymond Nat Turner can be contacted at upsurgejazz.com

 

Raymond Nat Turner © 2014 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


  • BAR Book Forum: Kenneth Janken’s “The Wilmington Ten”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Kenneth Janken’s “The Wilmington Ten”
    18 Mar 2020
    The case of the Wilmington Ten was one of the most egregious instances of injustice and political repression from the post-World War II black freedom struggle.
  • Only policies that provide people with authority to hire and fire police, investigate, conduct hearings and decide punishment will end police brutality.
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Clarence Taylor’s “Fight the Power”
    18 Mar 2020
    Only policies that provide people with authority to hire and fire police, investigate, conduct hearings and decide punishment will end police brutality.
  • Elon Musk Is Acting Like a Neo-Conquistador for South America’s Lithium
    Vijay Prashad and Alejandro Bejarano 
    Elon Musk Is Acting Like a Neo-Conquistador for South America’s Lithium
    18 Mar 2020
    The billionaire is leading the scramble for Bolivia’s lithium resources under a coup government.
  • The Great Bernie Bust
    Daniel Lazare
    The Great Bernie Bust
    18 Mar 2020
    It is now all but certain that Joe Biden will be the Democratic candidate. 
  • The New White Moderate: Political Coercion, Liberalism, and the Failed Electoral Strategy
     joshua briond
    The New White Moderate: Political Coercion, Liberalism, and the Failed Electoral Strategy
    18 Mar 2020
    A democracy is not just being “allowed” to “choose” your representatives, but having representatives that actually align with peoples material interests.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us