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

Bad Hombres
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
25 Jul 2018
🖨️ Print Article
Bad Hombres
Central American has the highest murder rate on the planet, thanks to 2 centuries of US intervention.

Miguel was a precocious
six-year-old. And Maria,
his mother, swore the
Sun’s shine started in
his green eyes. ‘Ojos Verde,’
she lovingly called him.

Blessed with perfect pitch,
Miguel’s music aptitude
was off the charts! He could pick
Melodies out on the tiny, beat up
guitar, his Grandpa rescued from
Rich folks’ trash and put in Miguel’s
small hands the moment he walked.
And the sky was the limit—before
Bad Hombres with
Badges kidnapped him…

Floods of florescent light, 24/7
and arbitrary darkness behind
blacked out windows…remind
Miguel that his world is flipped
Upside down like a car skidding out of
Control somewhere in Oregon or New York.
He misses his Mommy; He rocks and chants
staccato licks, “Ma-ma, ma-ma, ma-ma…”

The sharp needle pierces his tender
Brown flesh. He screams, “Ma-ma, Ma-ma!”
Sunshine drains from emerald eyes into slo-
mo replays like red flags thrown through the
Rest of his life…

After 54 days Miguel’s reunited with his Mommy.
She searches scabies and lice for emerald sunshine,
Finding busted windows where a tortured soul and
Nightmares reside profitably: Childcare provided by
Bad Hombres—
drug dealers
and rapists…

© 2018. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

Raymond Nat Turner is an acclaimed poet and performing artist. Find much more of his work at http://upsurgejazz.com.

Central America

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


Related Stories

John Perry
UN “Experts” Fueling Washington’s Attacks on Nicaragua
01 April 2026
The UN panel’s reports on Nicaragua recycle claims from U.S.-backed opposition groups, serving as a propaganda arm for Washington’s regime chan
Gerald A. Perreira
Turning Its Back on Cuba: Government of Guyana Sells Its Soul
25 February 2026
Cuba has provided Guyana with doctors, scholarships, and healthcare for nearly five decades.

More Stories


  • Neither Class Reduction nor Race Reduction: Toward a Revolutionary Left Framework on an Age-Old Debate
    Danny Haiphong, BAR Contributing Editor
    Neither Class Reduction nor Race Reduction: Toward a Revolutionary Left Framework on an Age-Old Debate
    27 Jan 2021
    White supremacy and class struggle must thus be taken together as parts of a whole social system rather than separate categories of oppression.
  • Ajamu Baraka: We Are Entering a New Totalitarian Era
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Ajamu Baraka: We Are Entering a New Totalitarian Era
    27 Jan 2021
    In this interview for Pacifica Radio’s Covid, Race and Democracy, Ajamu Baraka warned of a new era of totalitarian neoliberalism.
  • First 100 Daze: A ‘new’ dance craze
    Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    First 100 Daze: A ‘new’ dance craze
    27 Jan 2021
    Everybody’s wild ‘bout this ‘new’ dance craze— this lewd, crude dance called “The 1st 100 Daze…” Here come Ol’ Blak Schmo and Ladee Blu— listen up—they’re gonna teach it to you:
  • New Toolkit Tallies Up Victories and Summarizes Strategies to Defund the Police
    Andrea J. Ritchie
    New Toolkit Tallies Up Victories and Summarizes Strategies to Defund the Police
    27 Jan 2021
    It is more imperative than ever to reduce the funding, power, weaponry, and reach of law enforcement agencies that are committed to protecting a white supremacist status quo.
  • We Have To Stop Valorizing Black Cops
    Mary Retta
    We Have To Stop Valorizing Black Cops
    27 Jan 2021
    The purpose of policing––to jail and kill Black folks––remains the same regardless of the officers’ race. 
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us