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


  • Joe Biden is Wrong, Capitalism IS Exploitation
    Danny Haiphong, BAR Contributing Editor
    Joe Biden is Wrong, Capitalism IS Exploitation
    23 Jul 2021
    The COVID-19 pandemic has produced numerous examples of “disaster capitalism, and spectacular profits for billionaires.”
  • The TPLF Attack on Ethiopia Contains the Accumulated Evil of the War
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    The TPLF Attack on Ethiopia Contains the Accumulated Evil of the War
    23 Jul 2021
    The western nations that Ethiopia previously kow-towed to claim national government forces attacked Tigrayan troops first, when precisely the opposite occurred.
  • Our ‘democracy’
    Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    Our ‘democracy’
    23 Jul 2021
    Shangri-La—untaxed, socially-distanced champagne- caviar, Cayman Island, yacht crowds who Pay nothing for water washing their waste to sewage 
  • The Conspicuous Absence of Derrick Bell—Rethinking the CRT Debate, Part 1
    Patrick D. Anderson
    The Conspicuous Absence of Derrick Bell—Rethinking the CRT Debate, Part 1
    23 Jul 2021
    Bell levels a class critique against the Black bourgeoisie, whom he sees as having led Black political protest down the wrong path time and time again.
  • Memo to France as Its Soldiers Leave Africa: “Get Out and Stay Out!”
    Mark P. Fancher
    Memo to France as Its Soldiers Leave Africa: “Get Out and Stay Out!”
    22 Jul 2021
    French bullying of Africa has been driven entirely by self-interest and greed.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us