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: Mecca Jamilah Sullivan’s “The Poetics of Difference”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Mecca Jamilah Sullivan’s “The Poetics of Difference”
    05 Jan 2022
    In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book.
  • The Deadly, Destructive Costs of Ethiopia’s Illusory Independence
    Mark P. Fancher
    The Deadly, Destructive Costs of Ethiopia’s Illusory Independence
    05 Jan 2022
    The mythology of Ethiopian independence is an impediment to understanding the current situation.
  • Frank Chapman joins Margaret Kimberley and Danny Haiphong to discuss his new book Marxist-Leninist Perspectives on Black Liberation and Socialism.
    Danny Haiphong and Margaret Kimberley
    Marxism and Black Liberation w/Frank Chapman
    05 Jan 2022
    Author and organizer Frank Chapman joins Margaret Kimberley and Danny Haiphong to discuss his new book Marxist-Leninist Perspectives on Black Liberation and Socialism.
  • Cuba Defeats Covid-19 with Learning, Science, and Unity
    W.T. Whitney
    Cuba Defeats Covid-19 with Learning, Science, and Unity
    04 Jan 2022
    Despite U.S. sanctions, Cuba has succeeded in treating covid and has developed five different vaccines that are widely accepted by its population.
  • 2021 Latin America and the Caribbean in Review: The Pink Tide Rises Again
    Roger Harris
    2021 Latin America and the Caribbean in Review: The Pink Tide Rises Again
    04 Jan 2022
    In 2021 the peoples of Latin American nations defied Washington by choosing the governments of their choice.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us