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


  • Black Agenda Radio, Week of May 8, 2019
    Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    Black Agenda Radio, Week of May 8, 2019
    07 May 2019
    Alice Speri: FBI deliberately conflates black protest with ISIS; NYPD’s Joe Ested throws the book at brutal overpolicing; Maurice Carney: US claims tha
  • Black Caucus Blasted for Turning Its Back On Rep. Omar 
    by Glen Ford
    Black Caucus Blasted for Turning Its Back On Rep. Omar 
    07 May 2019
  • US Sanctions Have Already Killed 40,000 Venezuelans
    Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    US Sanctions Have Already Killed 40,000 Venezuelans
    06 May 2019
    By August of 2018, more than 40,000 people had died from the effects of US economic sanctions against Venezuelan, according to a study by the Washington-based Center for Economic and Policy Researc
  • Black Ex-Cop Throws the Book at Brutal Officers
    Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    Black Ex-Cop Throws the Book at Brutal Officers
    06 May 2019
    In his new book, Police Brutality Matters, Black former New York City police officer Joe Estedadvocates that all police crimes be handled by federal prosecutors,
  • Conge President Invites US Help to Fight Non-Existent ISIS Threat
    Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    Conge President Invites US Help to Fight Non-Existent ISIS Threat
    06 May 2019
    Felix Tshisekedi, the new president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, requested US help in dealing with an alleged threat from ISIS, although only two percent of the country’s population is Musl
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us