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 Ghastly Crimes of U.S. Empire -- Mumia and Co-Author’s New Book
    Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    The Ghastly Crimes of U.S. Empire -- Mumia and Co-Author’s New Book
    28 May 2018
    Stephen Vittoria is co-author with Mumia Abu Jamal of the new book, Murder Incorporated: Empire, Genocide and Manifest Destiny – Book One.
  • The Left Needs More Critical Debate and Real Discussion, Less Twitter/Facebook Name Calling and Mic Drops
    Bruce A. Dixon , BAR managing editor
    The Left Needs More Critical Debate and Real Discussion, Less Twitter/Facebook Name Calling and Mic Drops
    24 May 2018
    A couple months ago I attended a gathering at somebody’s Atlanta home.
  • Israeli sniper prepares to implement the piece process.
    Raymond Nat Turner , BAR poet-in-residence
    Piece Process
    23 May 2018
    Breathe, Relax, Aim, Sight, Squeeze it’s a joy-stick; a video game to him He has orders to “light up” anything that moves; “Mow the grass, one blade at a time…” “One shot,
  • Black Caucus Sells Out Its Constituents Again – to the Cops
    Glen Ford , BAR executive editor
    Black Caucus Sells Out Its Constituents Again – to the Cops
    23 May 2018
    “This bill will be received as yet another attack on these communities and threatens to exacerbate what is already a discriminatory system of mass incarceratio
  • Freedom Rider: CIA and FBI Election Interference
    Margaret Kimberley , BAR editor and senior columnist
    Freedom Rider: CIA and FBI Election Interference
    23 May 2018
    “The same forces which went after Trump will come after anyone else who is seen as a danger to the system.”
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us