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


  • ho steadfastly refuse to fight for what they know to be right.
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR senior columnist
    Freedom Rider: Progressives Capitulate to Biden
    06 May 2021
    There can be no more excuses made for Democratic “progressives,” who steadfastly refuse to fight for what they know to be right.
  • Lebron James in the Eye of White Supremacy's Storm
    Danny Haiphong, BAR Contributing Editor
    Lebron James in the Eye of White Supremacy’s Storm
    06 May 2021
    No one, not even Lebron James, is immune to the disciplinary process meted out by the ruling class to maintain the lie of American exceptionalism on a mass scale,
  • German Greens Crusade for US/NATO Wars
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    German Greens Crusade for US/NATO Wars
    06 May 2021
    The Green Party in the U.S. is also a pro-peace party -- but that's no longer the case in Germany.
  • Anthropology, Racial Science, and the Harvesting of Black Bones: Dr. Michael Blakey Interviewed by Dr. Jemima Pierre
    Editors, Black Agenda Review
    Anthropology, Racial Science, and the Harvesting of Black Bones: Dr. Michael Blakey Interviewed by Dr. Jemima Pierre
    06 May 2021
    Most renowned academic institutions in the United States are implicated in the macabre practices of “racial” science.
  • Police Terror = “Support The Troops!”—1,000 x in ________
    Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    Police Terror = “Support The Troops!”—1,000 x in ________
    06 May 2021
    Police Terror = “Support The Troops!”—1,000 x in ________ Raymond Nat Turner, BAR Poet-in-Residence
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us