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


  • BAR Book Forum: Foluke Adebisi’s Book, “Decolonisation and Legal Knowledge”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Foluke Adebisi’s Book, “Decolonisation and Legal Knowledge”
    02 Nov 2022
    This week’s featured author is Foluke Adebisi. Adebisi is Associate Professor at the University of Bristol. Her book is Decolonisation and Legal Knowledge: Reflections on Power and Possibility.
  • Truth Cops: Leaked Documents Outline DHS’s Plans to Police Disinformation
    Ken Klippenstein , Lee Fang
    Truth Cops: Leaked Documents Outline DHS’s Plans to Police Disinformation
    02 Nov 2022
    An exposé reveals the extent of collusion between big tech social media platforms and the surveillance state. Far from being independent actors, social media companies restrict access and de-platform…
  • Afghanistan News Update #14
    Black Alliance For Peace
    Afghanistan News Update #14
    02 Nov 2022
    The United States continues its theft of Afghanistan's assets. The economy has collapsed and the population suffer from poverty and hunger. The Black Alliance for Peace explains in its latest update.
  • The Crime Panic That Helped Elect Eric Adams Is Now Turning Against Him
    Ashoka Jegroo
    The Crime Panic That Helped Elect Eric Adams Is Now Turning Against Him
    02 Nov 2022
    Hyperbolic crime coverage by local media helped pave the way for former NYPD cop Eric Adams to become the mayor of New York City. But now that same media-manufactured crime panic is preventing Adams…
  • Liberal Democracy: The Bedfellow of Fascism
    Erica Caines
    Liberal Democracy: The Bedfellow of Fascism
    02 Nov 2022
    The struggle against fascism must include a struggle against liberal democratic collaborators.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us