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


  • Black Agenda Radio for Week of January 20, 2020
    Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    Black Agenda Radio for Week of January 20, 2020
    21 Jan 2020
    Black Self-Defense is Important, But Ideology is Paramount
  • Roots of Imperial Policing
    Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    Roots of Imperial Policing
    21 Jan 2020
    The US became deeply involved in global counterinsurgency after World War Two, said Stuart Schrader, a sociologist at Johns Hopkins University and author of “Badges Without Bo
  • Catch the “‘F’ the Police” Train
    Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    Catch the “‘F’ the Police” Train
    21 Jan 2020
    On January 31 activists plan to confront New York City cops in protests over high transit fares and police brutality, under the banner “F.T.P,” according to Shannon Jones, of
  • Black Self-Defense is Important, But Ideology is Paramount
    Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    Black Self-Defense is Important, But Ideology is Paramount
    21 Jan 2020
    Yafeuh Balogun, a leader of the Dallas-based Huey P Newton Gun Club, which advocates armed Black self-defense, said the club was inspired by the “founding of the Black Panther
  • MLK and the Black Misleadership Class
    Glen Ford , BAR executive editor
    MLK and the Black Misleadership Class
    16 Jan 2020
    Dr.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us