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


  • The Kids Are Reimagining International Solidarity
    Roberto Lovato
    The Kids Are Reimagining International Solidarity
    16 Jun 2021
    Millennial and Gen Z activists are aligning their struggles at home with the fights against US empire in the streets of Palestine, Haiti, Colombia, and other countries.
  • Black Agenda Radio for Week of June 14, 2021
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    Black Agenda Radio for Week of June 14, 2021
    14 Jun 2021
    Myth of “Black Wall Street” is Deployed to Bolster Black Capitalism
  • US Wages Cold War Against China Because America Can’t Compete
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    US Wages Cold War Against China Because America Can’t Compete
    14 Jun 2021
    The US confrontation with China is rooted in America being economically eclipsed by the Asian juggernaut, said Julie Varughese, Solidarity Network Coordinator of Black Al
  • US Universities Have Turned Into Rapacious Capitalist Machines
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    US Universities Have Turned Into Rapacious Capitalist Machines
    14 Jun 2021
    American higher education is a relentless gentrifyer that spreads police terror and low wages, said Davarian Baldwin, professor of American Studies and founding director of th
  • Myth of “Black Wall Street” is Deployed to Bolster Black Capitalism
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    Myth of “Black Wall Street” is Deployed to Bolster Black Capitalism
    14 Jun 2021
    In an article in Black Agenda Report titled “From Black Wall Street to Black Capitalism,” Too Black, a writer and poet based in Indianapolis, reported that “most Greenwood Bla
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us