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


  • New Legal Action is a Path to Mumia Abu-Jamal’s Freedom, But a Re-ignited International Mobilization is Critical for Victory
    Rachel Wolkenstein
    New Legal Action is a Path to Mumia Abu-Jamal’s Freedom, But a Re-ignited International Mobilization is Critical for Victory
    07 Mar 2018
    “It will take international mobilization of the masses, centrally labor and its allies, minorities, immigrants and youth to turn the tide and win Mumia’s freedom.”
  • Black Agenda Radio, Week of March 6, 2018
    Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    Black Agenda Radio, Week of March 6, 2018
    06 Mar 2018
    Black Agenda Radio for Week of March 5, 2017 Holding the Line Against Neoliberalism in Jackson, MS
  • PROP Calls for Free Mass Transit for NYC Poor
    Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    PROP Calls for Free Mass Transit for NYC Poor
    06 Mar 2018
    “Our position is that the city should provide free fares to low income people,” said Robert Gangi, of the Police Reform Organizing Project, who notes that 85 to 90 percent of the 2
  • Beware the Dangers of Reformism
    Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    Beware the Dangers of Reformism
    05 Mar 2018
    Reformers often wind up legitimizing and strengthening police power, said Dylan Rodriguez, professor of Media and Cultural Studies at the University of California at Riverside.
  • Holding the Line Against Neoliberalism in Jackson MS
    Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    Holding the Line Against Neoliberalism in Jackson MS
    05 Mar 2018
    Cooperation Jackson activist Kali Akuno said the grassroots movement can count on broad aspects of unity with the overwhelmingly Black capital city’s political class.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us