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

A Li'l Somethin' for Dick Gregory
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
31 Aug 2017
🖨️ Print Article
A Li'l Somethin' for Dick Gregory
A Li'l Somethin' for Dick Gregory

A Li'l Somethin' for Dick Gregory

by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner

Our white-bearded cannon
fell silent—
The day became grayer…
I know, I know, I know, I know…
He was my Mom’s favorite funnyman—
She bought his books, his vinyl
Speaking to her like Malcolm
(who she shared Turkish Coffee
with on his trips west, fishing for men)

I remember his mantra
He chanted like a Buddhist Priest:
“You youngsters got a lotta work to do…”
“You youngsters got a lotta work to do…”
Doubling us over,
splitting our sides, shaking our cores…

I remember his mantra
He chanted like a Buddhist Priest:
“You youngsters got a lotta work to do…”
“You youngsters got a lotta work to do…”
Piercing steel veils with X-ray vision
puncturing absurdities with barbed tongue—
Soul-ar powered bullshit detector
administering smell tests

I remember his mantra
He chanted like a Buddhist Priest:
“You youngsters got a lotta work to do…”
“You youngsters got a lotta work to do…”
while coming as close as we’ve come to
Having a Super Hero
putting his body
On the line running,
Marching, fasting, speaking,
Teaching us to follow
the money where the
bodies are buried…

Raymond Nat Turner © 2017 All Right 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


  • Faris Giacaman
    Israel is using the ‘Gaza doctrine’ in Lebanon and Iran
    11 Mar 2026
    For years, Israel used the “Dahiya doctrine” in Gaza. Now it’s using the “Gaza doctrine” in Dahiya — and Tehran.
  • Gary Wilson
    Oil War Sends the Bill to Workers
    11 Mar 2026
    The cost of the United States' war on Iran is falling hardest on the working class.
  • Pambazuka News Editors
    The Global African Implications of US-Israel Aggression towards Iran
    11 Mar 2026
    Global Africa must oppose military aggression. Global Africans must stand with the Iranians and prepare to navigate the ripple effects of this war on African peoples.
  • BAR Radio Logo
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio March 6, 2026
    06 Mar 2026
    In this week’s segment, we discuss past and present U.S. imperialism, analyzing struggles to protect Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution and to bring independence to Puerto Rico.
  • Gerald Horne
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Gerald Horne on The Hawaii Coup and the Roots of US Imperialism in the Asia-Pacific Basin
    06 Mar 2026
    Dr. Gerald Horne joins us from Houston to discuss his latest work, The Counter Revolution of 1893: The Hawaii Coup and the Roots of U.S. Imperialism in the Asia-Pacific Basin. He connects 19th-…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us