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


  •  “Black Liberals” are Aligned with the US Police State
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    “Black Liberals” are Aligned with the US Police State
    06 Jul 2021
    In a BAR article titled “Black Liberal, Your Time Is Up,” York College Africana Studies professor Yannick Marshall described much of the Black political class ensconced in the Demo
  • Freedom Rider: The Terrible Origins of July 4th
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR senior columnist
    Freedom Rider: The Terrible Origins of July 4th
    01 Jul 2021
    The British crown and the colonists were both determined to seize lands from native peoples and to continue enslavement.”
  • Message to the Peace Movement: A Summary of the New Cold War on China
    Danny Haiphong, BAR Contributing Editor
    Message to the Peace Movement: A Summary of the New Cold War on China
    01 Jul 2021
    The New Cold War is a tech war, a propaganda war, an economic war, and a war to maintain US political and economic supremacy.
  • DOCUMENT: Internal Security Act of 1950
    Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    DOCUMENT: Internal Security Act of 1950
    01 Jul 2021
    The terms of the McCarran Act strategy offer a wide catchment that has the potential to ensnare any progressive or radical movement.
  • Cover-up of a Cover-up: US Media Ignore OPCW Fraud to Justify Missile Strikes on S
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Cover-up of a Cover-up: US Media Ignore OPCW Fraud to Justify Missile Strikes on Syria
    01 Jul 2021
    Aaron Maté tells Ann Garrison that US media helps the OPCW cover up its cover-up for the US, UK, and France.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us