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


  • The FBI Has a Long History of Treating Political Dissent as Terrorism
    Alice Speri 
    The FBI Has a Long History of Treating Political Dissent as Terrorism
    06 Nov 2019
    Sting operations and the use of informants and agents provocateurs have become a staple of FBI operations.
  • Now is the Time to Win National Improved Medicare for All
    Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers
    Now is the Time to Win National Improved Medicare for All
    06 Nov 2019
    If the movement continues to build support, we can win National Improved Medicare for All in the early 2020s.
  • Europe’s Greedy Lending to Africa Drives the Migration That Fuels the EU’s Xenophobic Politics
    Vijay Prashad
    Europe’s Greedy Lending to Africa Drives the Migration That Fuels the EU’s Xenophobic Politics
    06 Nov 2019
    The reasons for major flows of migration to Europe actually come from within Europe itself.
  • Chicago Teachers Score a Historic Victory
    Peoples Dispatch Staff
    Chicago Teachers Score a Historic Victory
    06 Nov 2019
    The city’s Black-led union, with potent support from the city’s Black and brown communities, faced down the new Black mayor.
  •  Black Agenda Radio for Week of November 4, 2019
    Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    Black Agenda Radio for Week of November 4, 2019
    05 Nov 2019
    Black Voters Won’t Save the Democrats
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us