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


  • Human Rights Organizations Warn About the Looming Danger of Apartheid and Ethnic Cleansing in the Dominican Republic
    Vladimir Fuentes
    Human Rights Organizations Warn About the Looming Danger of Apartheid and Ethnic Cleansing in the Dominican Republic
    11 Jan 2023
    The Dominican Republic continues its policy of detaining and expelling Haitian descended people, including children who are separated from their parents. Some of those expelled are in fact legal…
  • Africa in Review 2022, II: Peacekeeping and the World Economic Crisis
    Abayomi Azikiwe
    Africa in Review 2022, II: Peacekeeping and the World Economic Crisis
    11 Jan 2023
    The second in a three-part series analyzing African politics in 2022.
  • Israel Was Never a Democracy: So why is the West Lamenting End of “Liberal” Israel?
    Ramzy Baroud
    Israel Was Never a Democracy: So why is the West Lamenting End of “Liberal” Israel?
    11 Jan 2023
    The idea that Israel is a democracy is propaganda of its own making and is meant to absolve that government of its many human rights violations. 
  • The Inglorious End of Juan Guaidó
    Ricardo Vaz
    The Inglorious End of Juan Guaidó
    11 Jan 2023
    Juan Guaido's "interim presidency" of Venezuela has come to an end, as opposition parties chose to end the U.S. backed arrangement. They hope to unify behind one candidate in next year's…
  • John Parker "People Speak Out to Stop War, Racism and World War III" in Harlem on January 13
    John Parker , Margaret Kimberley , BAR editor and senior columnist , Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    John Parker "People Speak Out to Stop War, Racism and World War III" in Harlem on January 13
    10 Jan 2023
    John Parker is coordinator of the Harriet Tubman Center for Social Justice in Los Angeles and a leading member of the Socialist Unity Party. He is also a member of the Black Alliance for Peace who…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us