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: Aishah Shahidah Simmons’ “Love WITH Accountability”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Aishah Shahidah Simmons’ “Love WITH Accountability”
    12 Feb 2020
    Simmons explores ways we can hold harm-doers accountable without getting involved with the very state that brutalizes Black and other communities of color.
  • Colombian Government Obstructs the Peace Agreement with the FARC Guerrilla Group
    Sebastián Navarrete Aldana 
    Colombian Government Obstructs the Peace Agreement with the FARC Guerrilla Group
    12 Feb 2020
    BAR’s reporter in Colombia explores how the US-backed regime is grossly violating the peace agreement with former FARC guerillas. 
  • How to Yellow-Cake a Tragedy: The New York Times Spreads the Virus of Hatred, Again
    K.J. Noh 
    How to Yellow-Cake a Tragedy: The New York Times Spreads the Virus of Hatred, Again
    12 Feb 2020
    The US corporate media, especially the Times, has turned a medical emergency into a racist campaign of ideological propaganda.
  • Keep War, Environmental Degradation and Profit Out of Space
    Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers
    Keep War, Environmental Degradation and Profit Out of Space
    12 Feb 2020
    The US is escalating the arms race because it sees its hegemonic military and economic power weakening. “This will be the most expensive arms race in history.”
  • The Democratic Party's Theatrical Performances: Fooling Black Voters for Decades
    Solomon Comissiong
    The Democratic Party's Theatrical Performances: Fooling Black Voters for Decades
    12 Feb 2020
    The Democrats are terrible at passing legislation that helps Black and poor people but fantastically talented at political theater.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us