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


  • Freedom Rider: British Collusion and Criminality
    Margaret Kimberley , BAR editor and senior columnist
    Freedom Rider: British Collusion and Criminality
    11 Jul 2018
    “Collusion continues not between Trump and Russians, but between intelligence agencies, the media and American politicians with hidden agendas.”
  • Bernie Sanders: “Don’t Be Rude to White Nationalists, Do What Alexandria Did”
    Paul Street
    Bernie Sanders: “Don’t Be Rude to White Nationalists, Do What Alexandria Did”
    11 Jul 2018
    “People Have a Right to Go Into a Restaurant and Have Dinner”
  • On July 4th, American Exceptionalism, and Ruling Class fear of Trump
    Danny Haiphong , BAR contributor
    On July 4th, American Exceptionalism, and Ruling Class fear of Trump
    11 Jul 2018
    “With each passing day under Trump, the mythology of US exceptionalism becomes more fragile.”
  • BAR Book Forum: Ari Heinrich’s “Chinese Surplus”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Ari Heinrich’s “Chinese Surplus”
    11 Jul 2018
    “Cutting-edge biomedical technology actually perpetuates certain inequalities.”
  • BAR Book Forum: Vince Schleitwiler’s “Strange Fruit of the Black Pacific”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Vince Schleitwiler’s “Strange Fruit of the Black Pacific”
    11 Jul 2018
    “The constraints empire placed on its racial contradictions are falling away.”
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us