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

“No Matter What Sign You Are,”4th Supreme
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
16 Jan 2019
🖨️ Print Article
the supremes
The Supremes

Mary was mysterious,
but the best dancer
Diana, the magnetic,
cooing romancer—
But, here’s a secret I know:
cats like me dug Miss Flo—
And the 4th Supreme’s ‘fro!

The 4th Supreme came
Singing tones ‘tween
Douglass and Carmen McRae—
Malcolm X and Lady Day

The 4th Supreme came
Singing “Stop In The Name Of Love!”
by way of Brandeis/Bombing-ham—
hitting Dynamite Hill high notes

The 4th Supreme came
Singing “Reflections”
in silver bracelets, on a
Newsweek cover captioned:
“Red, Black and Wanted!”

Hoover hated her harmonies with millions…
But I heard, “Set me free, why don’t you, babe?”
Rocking me to “ …Try Something New:”
Dialectics…

 

The 4th Supreme came
Singing, “I Hear A Symphony—”
“No Matter What Sign You Are,”
in ’08—but I
forgive her and comrades
and friends for singing flat
Madison Avenue smash hits: “Yes,
we can and bottle Jim Jones Juice;”
“regime Change you can believe in—”
delivering “Nothing But Heartaches” to
Honduras, Libya, Syria, Mother Africa…

© 2018. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.
Raymond Nat Turner, our poet in residence, is an accomplished performing artist. You can find much more of his work at http://upsurgejazz.com.

poetry

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


More Stories


  • Pivot to Mass Struggle: A Lesson from Ferguson
    Ashton Rome
    Pivot to Mass Struggle: A Lesson from Ferguson
    20 May 2020
    We are entering a terrifying and daunting time that requires a change in approach and tactics.
  • Cancel the Rent 
    Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
    Cancel the Rent 
    20 May 2020
    We have to reverse the strange alchemy where markets turn land, concrete, steel, and glass into money, while turning people out into the streets.
  • A Universal Appeal for Humanity to End Militarism and Stop War
    Abdallah El Harif and Vijay Prashad
    A Universal Appeal for Humanity to End Militarism and Stop War
    20 May 2020
    A bloc of countries, led by the United States of America, is stubbornly persisting in using force to maintain and extend their global dominance.
  • Prisons Are Using the Pandemic to Impose Lockdowns
    Michelle Chen
    Prisons Are Using the Pandemic to Impose Lockdowns
    20 May 2020
    More than 300,000 people in prisons or jails are under “full or partial lockdown” in response to the pandemic.
  • Why is Sam Husseini Channeling Neocon Conspiracy Theories on Covid-19? . Photo of lab in Wuhan, China
    K.J. Noh and Claudia Chaufan
    Why is Sam Husseini Channeling Neocon Conspiracy Theories on Covid-19?
    20 May 2020
    The authors charge a progressive journalist with acting as a “shill” for neocon propaganda and disinformation on China. (Husseini’s article is also published, below.)
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us