by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner
Our poet reflects on the life and enduring legacy of the people's champ, the greatest, Muhammad Ali.
Masses, Movements, Muhammad Ali!
by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner
I.
He came like a Jack Johnson flashback, wrapped
In Gorgeous George game, mentored by Malcolm
He came, fancy footwork, flamboyant flurry of fists
And flaming tongueâwhen a hero was needed to go toe-to-toe with Jim Crowâoutpoint Amerikkan
Apartheid in rings âround the globe!
He came telling the world about brave
Children facing firehoses, fangs of snarling
German Shepherds, billy clubs, cattle prods,
And crackers with stars; He came as a mirror,
Face reflecting beauty of our mighty mass movementsâwelts, warts, zits, imperfections and allâŚ
He came, Bojangles in boxing gloves, fighting
Shoulder to shoulder, side by side with Watts, Detroit, Newark, Montgomery millionsâ
Makers of history in anonymous gloryâŚ.
He came, defying grand dragon draft boards and
Speaking truth to peopleâAli Shuffling Black
Men out cul-de-sacs as cannon fodder; off bottom
Lines and balance sheets of war profiteers; off
Rope-a-Dope of rich menâs wars; off killing, âservingâ
The worldâs greatest purveyor of violenceâmurderers of Malcolm, Medgar, Martin, Lumumba,
Chaney, Schwerner and Goodman and good men and women in the Philippines, Korea, Cuba, Indonesia, Iran; He came Nina-Langston-like
âBacklash Bluesâ âAinât No Viet Cong ever called me
N#$$%@!â
He came healing, practicing preventive medicine on
PTSD and suicideâŚHe came reinvesting tears of Black families in graduations and weddingsâmaking
Black Lives MatterâŚ
He came Coltrane, like the blues, âI ainât got no
Quarrel with them Viet CongâŚâ Cliff Notes on
Leninâs Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism
II.
I sat silently on Facebook clicking red hearts
Emblazoned, âLOVEâ and occasionally writing
âRight onâ or âTEACHâ my â60s taught response
To righteous truth-tellingâI didnât want to write
Aliâs heroic deeds, simple words are Shakespearean,
Leaving us blind men and women foolâs errands of
Feeling an elephant and claiming deep grasp of its
NatureâŚintersectionality, binary Huxtabullshit to
âde-constructâ or âunpackâ
Aliâs a real role modelâno Shaq/Chuck shuckâŚ
No Nobel Peace Prize mass murderer; no prop
In hands of clownsâacrobats skillfully hoisting him and supporting the troops while dangling on the dick of the Drone Ranger!
Aliâs a real role model. His words and deeds stoked
Dream machines, made us think and believe we can run Miles and TraneâŚand be âThe Greatestâ at somethingâŚ
Raymond Nat Turner Š 2016 All Rights Reserved
Raymond Nat Turner is an acclaimed NYC based poet and performance artist. You can find more of his work at www.upsurgejazz.com
The U.S. and Canada are using Caribbean and Latin nations to act as fronts, willing dupes, in their plans for the next occupation of Haiti. Travis Ross explains in the second of a three-part report.
The attack by Israeli settlers on the town of Hawwara was no aberration. It was just one example of the violence inherent in an apartheid state.
It is important to understand the truth about the 222 people recently released to the US who were convicted of treason in Nicaragua for savage acts of violence against their people.
The tenth anniversary of the death of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez reminds us of his commitment to serve the people of his country, and to fighting for sovereignty for his nation and all theâŚ
Having used arms control to gain unilateral advantage over Russia, the cost to the U.S. and NATO in getting Moscow back to the negotiating table will be high.
