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 FBI’s War on the Left: A Short History of COINTELPRO
    Alex Zambito
    The FBI’s War on the Left: A Short History of COINTELPRO
    11 Nov 2020
    The Bureau’s COINTELPRO deployed every trick and crime in the book to crush left dissidents, from disruption to assassination. 
  • Letters from Our Readers
    Jason Choudhry, BAR Comments Editor
    Letters from Our Readers
    11 Nov 2020
    This week the presidential election and the legacy of Paul Robeson were on your minds.
  • BAR Book Forum: Lia T. Bascomb’s “In Plenty and in Time of Need”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Lia T. Bascomb’s “In Plenty and in Time of Need”
    11 Nov 2020
    Politicians ignore at their peril the power of popular culture and its people-moving practitioners.
  • BAR Book Forum: Adrienne Brown’s “The Black Skyscraper”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Adrienne Brown’s “The Black Skyscraper”
    11 Nov 2020
    Facial masks and Black Lives Matter murals are part of the ever-changing panorama that shapes our perceptions of hierarchy, just as tall buildings do.
  • The COVID-19 Pandemic Exposes Fatal Health Inequities
    Meredeth Turshen and Annie Thébaud-Mony
    The COVID-19 Pandemic Exposes Fatal Health Inequities
    11 Nov 2020
    Privatization of health care is why some of the wealthiest countries have proved unable to respond rapidly to the pandemic.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us