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: Democrats Unhinged by Korea
    Margaret Kimberley , BAR editor and senior columnist
    Freedom Rider: Democrats Unhinged by Korea
    20 Jun 2018
    “The bipartisan war making consensus is in full effect.”
  • Black Liberationist Debbie Sims Africa Speaks Out After Her 40 Years in Prison
    Ed Pilkington
    Black Liberationist Debbie Sims Africa Speaks Out After Her 40 Years in Prison
    20 Jun 2018
    “This is a storied victory for Debbie and her family, and the Move organization.”
  • BAR Book Forum: Stephen Gowans’ “Patriots, Traitors and Empires: The Story of Korea's Struggle for Freedom”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Stephen Gowans’ “Patriots, Traitors and Empires: The Story of Korea's Struggle for Freedom”
    20 Jun 2018
    “The leader of every state that has refused to submit to US political and economic domination is defamed as a monster.”
  • BAR Book Forum: Shane Maddock’s “Nuclear Apartheid”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Shane Maddock’s “Nuclear Apartheid”
    20 Jun 2018
    “Ultimately, the surest way to reduce the risk of nuclear war is to eliminate nuclear weapons.”
  • Oraa Aamaader Gaan Gaaite Dyay Naa: A Bengali Panegyric to Paul Robeson
    R. Divya Nair
    Oraa Aamaader Gaan Gaaite Dyay Naa: A Bengali Panegyric to Paul Robeson
    20 Jun 2018
    “The Indian people cherish Robeson’s example of revolutionary humanity at its most developed and saluted him as their black brother in struggle.”
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us