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

For Fancy Miss Nancy
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
19 Dec 2018
🖨️ Print Article
Nancy Sue Wilson 1937-2018
Nancy Sue Wilson 1937-2018

Guess who I saw
today, black and white photo,
Marching, Montgomery from
Selma, ‘65?

Guess who I saw
at my high school swingin’ the
Trio; urging us to stay in school?

Guess who I,
was privileged to sequence
a later CD for, late one night?

…and you don’t know, you don’t know how
Glad I am that she
put the purr in whisper, with a sultry
Sound that could make subpoenas seem sensuous

…and you don’t know, you don’t know how
Glad I am that she
Appeared, sparkling, at the end of the
golden era—looking as good as she sounded—
Her face should grace
Buckeye State flags emblazoned
“There will never be another you…”

…and you don’t know, you don’t know how
Glad I am that she
Hovered earth— stunning hummingbird,
gorgeous humanitarian, giving the greatest
performance of her life, moments I loitered—
not seizing the time and asking, “When did
You leave heaven?”
Though, I think it was maybe ’37? I know she’s

Free Again…

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

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

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


More Stories


  • Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Dara Baldwin’s Book, “To Be a Problem”
    08 Oct 2025
    In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book. This week’s featured author is Dara Baldwin. Baldwin is an activist, a scholar, and an author with over 20 years of…
  • Erica Caines
    The Chicago Raid in Context: Connecting the Wars at Home and Abroad
    08 Oct 2025
    The fight against fascism is a fight against racism and capitalism. The raid on a Chicago apartment building proves that the system’s violence at home and its wars abroad share the same logic and the…
  • Black Alliance For Peace
    The Black Alliance for Peace Condemns Establishment of Colonial Military Governance Over Haiti by UN Security Council
    08 Oct 2025
    The imperialist west is responsible for Haiti's deterioration through policies designed to keep the nation poor and powerless. Now those same powers are offering what they claim are solutions.
  • Jim DeBrosse
    Who profited off 7 October?
    08 Oct 2025
    Unusual stock market activity is one of the indicators that the Israeli government had prior knowledge of the Hamas action which took place on October 7, 2023.
  • Robert Inlakesh
    Hamas, Trump, Israel, and Who Accepted What Ceasefire – Analysis
    08 Oct 2025
    As it stands, there is no chance that a ceasefire can be implemented, according to the current parameters of the Trump-Netanyahu plan.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us