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


  • Another Reason Why Imperialism Wanted Libya Overthrown
    Abayomi Azikiwe
    Another Reason Why Imperialism Wanted Libya Overthrown
    28 Mar 2018
    “Sarkozy wanted the Libyan state eviscerated and Gaddafi assassinated because he had borrowed millions of dollars from the African leader in 2007 to finance hi
  • South Africa: Unions Plan General Strike, Denounce “Sell-Outs” and “Rented Stooge” Ramaphosa
    Pavan Kulkarni
    South Africa: Unions Plan General Strike, Denounce “Sell-Outs” and “Rented Stooge” Ramaphosa
    28 Mar 2018
    “SAFTU called upon rank-and-file members to ‘break with the leadership sell-out deal and join our fight to defend their democratic rights.’”
  • Black Agenda Radio, Week of March 26, 2018
    Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    Black Agenda Radio, Week of March 26, 2018
    27 Mar 2018
    jBlack Agenda Radio for Week of March 26, 2018 Baraka on Leftists That Collaborate with Empire
  • Theft is Part of U.S. DNA
    Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    Theft is Part of U.S. DNA
    27 Mar 2018
    You can’t understand the present-day United States if you don’t know its bloody history, said Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, author of An Indigenous People’s History of the United State
  • Outlaw Poverty, Says Activist
    Kyle Fraser , Black Agenda Radio producer
    Outlaw Poverty, Says Activist
    27 Mar 2018
    Nyle Fort, an activist with the Poor People’s Campaign, was among the speakers at a New York City event designed to bring Black and immigrant communities together on issues of mass
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us