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

My Wise Country Cousin on Logo Leaders
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
11 Mar 2015
🖨️ Print Article

4by BAR poet-in-residence Raymond Nat Turner

Why, dey otta hab logos on dey suits
Tellin’ de wurl how deys in cahoots—
Maybe den dem lil’ Negroz unnerstan
Dat logo leaduhs is workin’ fo’ de ‘man?’

My Wise Country Cousin on Logo Leaders

by BAR poet-in-residence Raymond Nat Turner

Off wit smokin’ jackit, silk pajamuh
Fo’ photo-ops, posin’ in Alabamuh
But, frum ebry thang I hear an I see
Dey is still de blak booze-wah-zee—
Corprit as de summa day is long
Lak two lef shooz, deys jus wrong!

Dey’s de wurs ob de bottum feeduhs
Dats, why I calls dem logo leaduhs!
Why, dey otta hab logos on dey suits
Tellin’ de wurl how deys in cahoots—
Maybe den dem lil’ Negroz unnerstan
Dat logo leaduhs is workin’ fo’ de ‘man?’

Dem logo leaduhs ain’t about much
‘Cept, co-optin ebry thang dey touch
Why, dem Negroz de lowest ob de low
How dey turn a march into a trade show?
I dun tolt you, son, it ain’t no mistree—
Dey wrote de book on re-writin’ histree!

Dem Negroz is puttin’ us all in danguh
Infestin’ Selma wit de Drone Ranguh!
How a man killin’ folk ebry Toozday,
Deliverin’ families’ wurs bad news day,
Hab de nerb enuf to  invok de Norf Star?
Constetushallnull lawya dey shud disbar!

How he gon’ fix his mouf ‘bout non-vilunz
Wen Occupy an’ Blak Lives Matter:…silunz?
How he gon’ fix his mouf ‘bout non-vilunz,
Wen Libyuh an’ Seerya I jus’ hear: …silunz?
He talkin’ an’ gestrin lak he channlin’ Dr. Kang—
You rekun dem drones wud be de Dr.’s thang?

Dem lil’ Negroz jus’ crawl frum unda a rock?
Why caint dey see de Commanduh a Warlock?
When dem lil’ Negroz gon’ wake dem sefs up—
Quit shakin’ de spare change beleef  cup…?

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


  • ​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist
    A People(s)-Centered Human Rights Critique of “An Open Letter to Iran’s Political Prisoners”
    26 Aug 2026
    A People(s)-Centered Human Rights framework rejects the liberal abstraction that makes a false symmetry between Iranian authoritarianism and U.S. imperialism, which obscures the fact that one is a…
  • Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    ESSAY: The CIA and Studies on Guerrilla Warfare, Robert Molteno, 1979
    26 Aug 2026
    “In the period since 1969, one can detect the same old close ties between right-wing U.S. academics, think tanks, foundations, and the U.S. Government…”
  • Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright
    The Manifestation of Surplus Populations: How Gary, Indiana is the Latest Exemplar of the Wrong Complexion for Protection
    26 Aug 2026
    White supremacy works through institutions, and FEMA's formula for allocating disaster relief shows us how the state decides which neighborhoods are prioritized and which are left to suffer. Those in…
  • Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    U.S. Liberal Media Literacy Guide: The World Bank and the IMF
    26 Aug 2026
    The IMF and World Bank are not subjects the corporate media cover in any real sense. Instead, their role is treated as unquestionably immutable and beneficial.
  • Anti-Imperialist Scholars Collective
    The Guardian Letter: The Anti-Imperialist Scholars Collective Responds
    26 Aug 2026
    The Anti-Imperialist Scholars Collective (AISC) wrote this response to the open letter To Iran's political prisoners, 'trapped between two blades of a scissors' which appeared in The…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us