by BAR poet-in-residence Raymond Nat Turner
“Blak Lifes Mattur, yeah, but dey’s unnecessary
Blak Lifes Mattur, ‘til Friday de 20 ob January
My Wise Country Cousin on Miss Hillree an de Matter ob Blak Lives
by BAR poet-in-residence Raymond Nat Turner
Now, Miss Hillree mean as de day is long—
Yeah, she lak two lef shooz, she so wrong,
Don’ know if she mo mean den she shady
Do know dat she ackin lak de ‘Ion Ladee’
Lak de nukler vershun ob Hellen ob Troy
‘Membur how she dun dat ol’ Kadaffy boy?
Den crow’d: “We came, we saw, he died!”
Lawd, dats one time—she ain’t nebber lied.
Hit Hayshun helpurs in de head wit hosshooz
Jus’‘cause she caut dem lissenin’ to de blues;
Head-butted Pootin at a big G-Sebben meetin’
Den gib sidekick Tony Blare a vishus beatin’
Waterbo’d a “ghos’ detanee” fo’ sevul hours—
Den turn ‘em ova to Newlun an Sam Powurs!
Occuepyd, foldin’ up her retraktabul baton—
Seem lak she fogit dat de main mic still on:
“Blak Lifes Mattur, yeah, but dey’s unnecessary
Blak Lifes Mattur, ‘til Friday de 20 ob January—
Dey mattur afta dat, as poleez, maybe millatary,
De penitentiary, mortuary—maybe de cemetery…”
Miss Hillree jus’ de latest slick re-akkkshunary—
Dem Negroz know scam-pain lyin’s customary?
Raymond Nat Turner can be contacted at upsurgejazz.com
Raymond Nat Turner © 2015 All Rights Reserved
Juneteenth was a people's holiday with deep meaning for the descendants of enslaved people. But the declaration of an official federal holiday has turned it into an opportunity for corporate…
Hubert Henry Harrison was one of the foremost Black socialist and nationalist thinkers of the early 20th century. He was known as "the father of Harlem radicalism." This is the second of of a…
José Martí’s account of the 1889 Pan-American Congress offers lessons for last week’s failed Summit of the Americas.
The emerging multipolar world is the result of struggles for national sovereignty and self-determination, which are connected with the world wide class struggle.
Teddy Fikre is an Ethiopian-American independent candidate for Congress in Virginia. He discusses the challenges that his community faces in advocating for their homeland through U.S. electoral…
