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


  • Global NATO: A 70-Year Alliance of Oppressors in Crisis 
    Horace G. Campbell
    Global NATO: A 70-Year Alliance of Oppressors in Crisis 
    17 Apr 2019
    NATO is the main prop for global capital’s predations, and must be opposed by all who seek peace and social justice.
  • As Black Activists Protested Police Killings, Homeland Security Worried They Might Join ISIS
    Alice Speri 
    As Black Activists Protested Police Killings, Homeland Security Worried They Might Join ISIS
    17 Apr 2019
    Federal officials spread right-wing tales that Black protesters were susceptible to Islamic jihadist appeals.
  • black agenda report
    Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    Black Agenda Radio, Week of April 17, 2019
    16 Apr 2019
    Frank
  •  South Carolina “Bears Responsibility” for Prison Deaths
    Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    South Carolina “Bears Responsibility” for Prison Deaths
    15 Apr 2019
    The deaths of seven inmates during disturbances at the Lee County state prison, a year ago, “was the state’s responsibility, that has not been acknowledged,” said veteran anti-mass Black incarcerat
  • The Role of Electoral Politics in Revolutionary Change
    Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    The Role of Electoral Politics in Revolutionary Change
    15 Apr 2019
    Participants in the Black Is Back Coalition’s 3rd Electoral Politics School agreed with chairman Omali Yeshitela that “massive political change is in the wind.” “The worl
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us