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


  • Freedom Rider: The Return of Hillary Clinton
    Margaret Kimberley , BAR editor and senior columnist
    Freedom Rider: The Return of Hillary Clinton
    23 Oct 2019
    It’s not clear if smear-mongering Clinton is running for president, or just fleeing reality. “Her reappearance spells disaster for the Democratic Party.”
  • Political Theology, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and the Limits of Social Democracy
    Danny Haiphong , BAR contributor
    Political Theology, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and the Limits of Social Democracy
    23 Oct 2019
    Universal equality has always run counter to the United States’ anti-Black and settler colonial roots.
  • Hillary Busts Tulsiasha Gabbardskaya and Jillia Steinakanova: What Could Go Wrong?
    Ann Garrison , BAR contributor
    Hillary Busts Tulsiasha Gabbardskaya and Jillia Steinakanova: What Could Go Wrong?
    23 Oct 2019
    With their Russiagate fantasies, the Democrats have done infinitely more to delegitimize US institutions of governance than any foreign power could dream to accomplish.
  • Black Agenda Report’s 13th Anniversary: An Evening of Information and Inspiration for Liberation, and a Tribute to Co-Founder Bruce Dixon
    by BAR Staff
    Black Agenda Report’s 13th Anniversary: An Evening of Information and Inspiration for Liberation, and a Tribute to Co-Founder Bruce Dixon
    23 Oct 2019
    https://www.eventbrite.com/e/black-agenda-reports-13th-anniversary-tickets-72333259727
  • Neo-Con Chippendales
    BAR Poet-in-Residence Raymond Nat Turner
    Neo-Con Chippendales
    23 Oct 2019
    White phosphorus Pony, nuclear bumps and grinds; sulfur stench shimmies, twisted Third Reich minds— bending, ‘amending’ yellowed, ragged redacted pages
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us