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


  • COVID-19: The Capitalist Emperor Has no Clothes
    Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor
    COVID-19: The Capitalist Emperor Has no Clothes
    01 Apr 2020
    The systemic failure of the capitalist order triggered by the coronavirus has reinforced the growing awareness that extreme wealth inequality is a fundamental characteristic of the system.
  • Racial Profiling Disorder: the All-American Pandemic 
    John G. Russell
    Racial Profiling Disorder: the All-American Pandemic 
    01 Apr 2020
    RAPROD carriers are convinced that blacks disproportionately carry guns and other contraband.
  • Letters from Our Readers 
    Jahan Choudhry BAR Comments Editor
    Letters from Our Readers 
    01 Apr 2020
    This week readers discussed the coronavirus’s relationship to NATO, sanctions, and the duopoly.
  • BAR Abolition & Mutual Aid Spotlight: Mutual Aid Disaster Relief
    Dean Spade and Roberto Sirvent, BAR Contributors
    BAR Abolition & Mutual Aid Spotlight: Mutual Aid Disaster Relief
    01 Apr 2020
    The system is a disaster and the victims can best determine their own needs -- only the people save the people.
  • BAR Book Forum: Brenna Greer’s “Represented”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Brenna Greer’s “Represented”
    01 Apr 2020
    This book demonstrates the challenges of pursuing rights or recognition through capitalism and the market.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us