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 NBA’s Black Power
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    The NBA’s Black Power
    02 Sep 2020
    Black NBA players, writes Ann Garrison, are just beginning to understand the power of the attention and admiration they command.
  • Deja vu—Step 1 and Step 2? 
    Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    Deja vu—Step 1 and Step 2? 
    02 Sep 2020
    Is this Deja Vu— Step1 and Step 2? The long, long lines breaking with 12 years of Reaganite reaction in  ’92  Slick Willy’s $campaign—his sax-
  • “The Balls in (Y)our Court:” Naomi Osaka and (Continued) Black Genocide 
    P. Khalil Saucier
    “The Balls in (Y)our Court:” Naomi Osaka and (Continued) Black Genocide 
    02 Sep 2020
    Osaka’s statement must be seen as part of a radical tradition too often redacted from sports history.
  • The Invention of Ibram X Kendi and the Ideological Crises of Our Time
    Anthony Monteiro
    The Invention of Ibram X Kendi and the Ideological Crises of Our Time
    02 Sep 2020
    Rich white capitalists may be donating millions to Black Lives Matter, but they’re also funding and praising nonsense like Kendi’s babblings on race and capitalism.
  • Letters from Our Readers
    Jahan Choudhry, BAR Comments Editor
    Letters from Our Readers
    02 Sep 2020
    This week the Democratic Party presidential ticket was on your minds.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us