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


  • Cedric Robinson and the Origins of Race
    Minkah Makalami
    Cedric Robinson and the Origins of Race
    24 Feb 2021
    To dismiss the logic of Robinson’s “racial capitalism,” one must ignore the only history of capitalism we have.
  • Letters from Our Readers
    Jahan Choudhry, BAR Comments Editor
    Letters from Our Readers
    24 Feb 2021
    This week you discussed the struggle against the dollar and neocolonialism.
  • BAR Book Forum: Gerald Horne’s The Dawning of the Apocalypse
    Dr. Gerald Horne
    BAR Book Forum: Gerald Horne’s The Dawning of the Apocalypse
    24 Feb 2021
    Britain is, indeed, the “mother country” of US white supremacy, having bythe 13th century become “The First Racial State in the West.”  
  • BAR Book Forum: Adam Kotsko’s “Neoliberalism’s Demons”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Adam Kotsko’s “Neoliberalism’s Demons”
    24 Feb 2021
    Nationalism, racism, sexism, homophobia, and other forms of oppression and exclusion are an integral part of the neoliberal order.
  • Why a Shootout Between Black Panthers and Law Enforcement 50 Years Ago Matters Today
    Paul Ringel
    Why a Shootout Between Black Panthers and Law Enforcement 50 Years Ago Matters Today
    24 Feb 2021
    The 1971 raid marks a nationwide militarization of police relations with Black protest groups and Africa Americans as a group.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us