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
  • omnibus

(OSCAR) Old Southern Californian Aryan Racketeers
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
25 Feb 2015
🖨️ Print Article

(OSCAR) Old Southern Californian Aryan Racketeers

by Raymond Nat Turner

Curtain rising, Black images

Fading, lost, stolen, strayed;

‘White’ suspense speeches

Read like corporate talking

Points, red carpet, 30 million

Viewers, Grand Jury True Bills—

Dice loaded, card’s marked,

Diversity smells like charcoal…

Well, “Hooray for Hollywood”

Never meant Black folk no good…

Get over opinions of color-

Blind ‘white’ men with

Bleached white plastic

Smiles, like you got over

Santa Claus, tooth fairies and

Taney’s Dred Scott script—

Oscar Micheaux’s the only

Oscar relevant, ignore pink-

Eyed lobbyists with detached

Retinas, jaundiced scammers

Legally blind, like monkeys on

Capitalist Hill, like sightless

Juries who saw Rodney as King-

Kong, “controlling the situation,”

Mike Brown as “Hulk Hogan

Bulking up, running through shots,”

Eric Garner as an irresponsible

Stuntman, holding his breath

After his scene was a wrap—

Well, “Hooray for Hollywood”

Never meant Black folk no good…

Quit crashing burning house

Parties, wincing at embers, and

Acrid smoke blinding teleprompter

Readers, missing the Hurricane and X

Denzel whipped up, Round Midnight

Dexter Gordon delivered, timelessly,

Soldier Story Adolph Caesar marshaled, masterfully…

…Selma?

Well, “Hooray for Hollywood”

Never meant Black folk no good…

So tap grapevines, pool pennies

Grown at grassroots; hand out

Statuettes resembling Robeson,

Josephine Baker, Ruby Dee and

Ossie Davis—call ‘em ‘Robies,’

‘Paulies,’ ‘Josies,’ ‘Rubies,’

‘Ossies—‘ just do it…

Raymond Nat Turner can be contacted at Raymond (at) upsurgejazz.com
Raymond Nat Turner © 2015 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


  • Inae Oh
    What $100 Billion in New ICE Funding Would Look Like
    09 Jul 2025
    The staggering increase is ICE enforcement is difficult to process. These numbers will help.
  • Margaret Kimberley and Dimitri Lascaris
    Dimitri Lascaris , Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Donald Trump's Big, Beautiful Con-Job w/ Margaret Kimberley
    09 Jul 2025
    This past week, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives passed Donald Trump's signature budget bill, which Trump dubbed "One Big Beautiful Bill Act". Dimitri Lascaris spoke with Margaret…
  • BAR Radio Logo
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio July 4, 2025
    04 Jul 2025
    In this week’s segment, we discuss navigating celebrity culture and liberation politics. Also, organizers will convene in Philadelphia to mobilize on behalf of Mumia Abu Jamal. But first, we learn…
  • Legal Defense Fund
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Birthright Citizenship and the Supreme Court
    04 Jul 2025
    On Inauguration Day, Donald Trump issued an Executive Order which stated that the federal government would require proof of parental citizenship or permanent residency in order to grant birthright…
  • Kalonji Changa
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    The Struggle for Liberation Amid Celebrity Culture
    04 Jul 2025
    We are joined by Kalonji Changa, who is a co-founder of Black Power Media, founder of the FTP Movement, and co-author of the book Beyond Cop Cities: Dismantling State and Corporate-Funded Armies and…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us