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 “Sports and Black Struggle”: Interview with Samantha N. Sheppard
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum “Sports and Black Struggle”: Interview with Samantha N. Sheppard
    30 Mar 2022
    This week, we interview Samantha N. Sheppard. Samantha N. Sheppard is an associate professor of cinema and media studies in the Department of Performing and Media Arts at Cornell University. She is…
  • BAR Book Forum: Interview with Sara-Maria Sorentino
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Interview with Sara-Maria Sorentino
    30 Mar 2022
    This week’s featured scholar is Sara-Maria Sorentino. Sorentino is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Gender and Race Studies at the University of Alabama. Her article is “Mistresses as…
  • Elections in Haiti: Legitimizing Imperialism and Killing Democracy?
    Kevin Edmonds
    Elections in Haiti: Legitimizing Imperialism and Killing Democracy?
    30 Mar 2022
    As the white rulers of Haiti push for illegitimate elections, can the “Montana Accord”- an agreement among some civil society groups to return democracy to Haiti - offer a way out of the country’s…
  • Haiti: A Grassroots Analysis on the State of Affairs Since the Assassination of de facto President Jovenel Moïse
    Jelin Esau Jules
    Haiti: A Grassroots Analysis on the State of Affairs Since the Assassination of de facto President Jovenel Moïse
    30 Mar 2022
    March 29, 2022 - Haitian community activists are out in the streets to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the Haitian constitution, drafted after the fall of the Duvalier dictatorship, and to…
  • Tens of Thousands Threatened with Property Tax Foreclosures in Detroit
    Abayomi Azikiwe
    Tens of Thousands Threatened with Property Tax Foreclosures in Detroit
    30 Mar 2022
    March 31 has been designated as the deadline for Wayne County residents to pay back property taxes from 2019 and before despite the failure to provide adequate assistance to working and impoverished…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us