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


  • We are Already Late to the Great Black Reparations Debate
    Glen Ford , BAR executive editor
    We are Already Late to the Great Black Reparations Debate
    26 Jun 2019
    The following essay was prepared for the 30th annual convention of NCOBRA, the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America, held June 20 - 23 in Detroit.
  • Freedom Rider: Biden and the Shame of the Black Misleaders
    Margaret Kimberley , BAR editor and senior columnist
    Freedom Rider: Biden and the Shame of the Black Misleaders
    26 Jun 2019
    The misleaders are tacitly admitting that black people can expect little to be done in their favor even if the Democrats manage to win.
  • 2020 Democratic Party Debates Encircle Sanders with Wall Street’s Political Dogs
    Danny Haiphong , BAR contributor
    2020 Democratic Party Debates Encircle Sanders with Wall Street’s Political Dogs
    26 Jun 2019
    Wall Street wants Harris, Buttigieg, and Biden to dominate the floor and shut down Sanders.
  • Mayor Pete’s White House Race Trips on Race 
    Paul Street
    Mayor Pete’s White House Race Trips on Race 
    26 Jun 2019
    The gay young presidential candidate’s cops killed a Black father on Father’s Day, but Butiggieg snubbed the community vigil.
  • Letters from Our Readers 
    Jahan Chowdhry, BAR Comments Editor
    Letters from Our Readers 
    26 Jun 2019
    Today we discuss Bernie Sanders in 2020 and Mahatma Gandhi in the anti-colonial struggle. Strong comments came for “
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us