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


  • Global Africa’s Mission: Expose the CIA’s Shameless, Continuing Crimes
    Mark P. Fancher
    Global Africa’s Mission: Expose the CIA’s Shameless, Continuing Crimes
    01 Feb 2023
    The CIA director recently visited Libya, a state that was destroyed by the US. History shows that the CIA is never up to anything good in Africa.
  • Colonial-Capitalist Fascism and Its Deadly Outcome: The State Murder of Tortuguita in Atlanta and Tyre Nichols in Memphis Are Inextricably Linked
    Black Alliance for Peace Atlanta City-Wide Alliance
    Colonial-Capitalist Fascism and Its Deadly Outcome: The State Murder of Tortuguita in Atlanta and Tyre Nichols in Memphis Are Inextricably Linked
    01 Feb 2023
    All acts of police violence in the US are linked to the colonial capitalist state.
  • Closing Ceremony of the A-APRP Party Congress in Guinea-Bissau
    All African Peoples Revolutionary Party
    Closing Ceremony of the A-APRP Party Congress in Guinea-Bissau
    01 Feb 2023
    The First Historical Congress of the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party marked a significant moment in the Pan-African Revolution.
  • Afghanistan News Update #16
    Black Alliance For Peace
    Afghanistan News Update #16
    01 Feb 2023
    The latest Black Alliance for Peace Afghanistan update presents an interview with a specialist in women's movements and legal reform in Afghanistan and links on other news sources.
  • Reckless Disregard for the Consequences of War
    Kollibri terre Sonnenblume
    Reckless Disregard for the Consequences of War
    01 Feb 2023
    The author says that the "corrupt psychos" running the West are shielded by a wall of massive disinformation.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us