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


  • The Left Must Finally Break With the Democrats
    A Discussion with Nick Brana
    The Left Must Finally Break With the Democrats
    13 Feb 2019
    It is vitally important to create a mass-based and corporate-free party of working people.
  • The Venezuela Myth Keeping Us From Transforming Our Economy
    Ellen Brown
    The Venezuela Myth Keeping Us From Transforming Our Economy
    13 Feb 2019
    Venezuela’s hyper-inflation is caused by US economic warfare, not government spending on social needs.
  • An Open Letter to the People of the United States
    Nicolás Maduro
    An Open Letter to the People of the United States
    13 Feb 2019
    We demand the cessation of the aggression that seeks to suffocate our economy and socially suffocate our people.
  • In Venezuela, White Supremacy Is a Key Driver of the Coup
    Greg Palast
    In Venezuela, White Supremacy Is a Key Driver of the Coup
    13 Feb 2019
    The coup is, at it heart, a furious backlash of whiter and wealthier Venezuelans against the mixed race and Black majority.
  • Black Agenda Radio, Week of February 11, 2019
    Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    Black Agenda Radio, Week of February 11, 2019
    12 Feb 2019
    Democrats are neither socialist nor even serious says Dr.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us