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


  • Stephon Clark Killed Twice by U.S. imperialism
    Danny Haiphong , BAR contributor
    Stephon Clark Killed Twice by U.S. imperialism
    13 Mar 2019
    The world’s most ambitious predators -- candidates for US president, like Clinton and Biden -- are also the most likely to condemn young Black men as “predators,” and to wreak mass death, worldwide
  • Chelsea Manning Defies Secret Grand Jury, Julian Assange Scoops Michael Cohen
    Ann Garrison , BAR contributor
    Chelsea Manning Defies Secret Grand Jury, Julian Assange Scoops Michael Cohen
    13 Mar 2019
    Whistleblower Chelsea Manning is jailed for refusing to testify against Julian Assange, whose confinement in Ecuador's London embassy puts the lie to much of the Russiagate fantasy.
  • Letters from Our Readers 
    Jahan Chowdhry, BAR Comments Editor
    Letters from Our Readers 
    13 Mar 2019
    This week readers engaged with the question of reparations for slavery and Black America’s stake in environmentalism. Strong responses came for 
  • BAR Book Forum: Alys Eve Weinbaum’s "The Afterlife of Reproductive Slavery”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Alys Eve Weinbaum’s "The Afterlife of Reproductive Slavery”
    13 Mar 2019
    Slavery is everywhere banned, but the ethos of the slave trade thrives in the baby-buying business.
  • BAR Book Forum: Sharla Fett on “Recaptured Africans”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Sharla Fett on “Recaptured Africans”
    13 Mar 2019
    The illegal slave trade continued right up to the Civil War, requiring US authorities to “recapture” and then expel the human cargo.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us