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

Ms. Cortez Goes to Washington
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
04 Apr 2019
🖨️ Print Article
ms cortez goes to washington
The real Washington DC isn't so different from the real Bronx or Queens...

“Never be deceived that the rich will
allow you to vote away their wealth.”
—Lucy Parsons

Bloody flashbacks: southern senators
sitting on Capitalist Hill…’til
Rigor mortis set in…
evolution of African-American voting

Supernatural powers of suffrage—20
minute recipe, 1 day—every 2-4 yrs:
Mix oceans of blood,
rivers of tears, with black cat dander; stir
Donkey dung, goober dust, a rabbit’s foot;
Sprinkle holy water; warm 365/24-7;
1/2 bake Hellfire Missiles in Predator Drone;
Crisp images of august bodies—Bipartisan
Business men/women serve up to seven
Wars—Trillions—Pentagon with the wind!
Finely chop cult of personality,
garnish liberally with piping
hot propaganda, glaze with PSYOP syrup;
Grease the Hill to Feel the Bern…until…

Ms. Cortez goes to Washington—
She don’t hafta come in cape, tights, “S” on
her chest or tattooed: “Care Bear Commie,”
compliments of Fox-box foot soldiers and
scribblers. Just “shake it up, baby.” Just
Talk the talk—impossible shit. We do the
Difficult: Montgomery Bus Boycott, 8 Hr.Day,
Abolition of slavery—We are our own Liberators!

© 2019. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

© 2019. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.,br/> Raymond Nat Turner is an accomplished poet and 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


  • Iran
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Iran Resists the U.S./Israeli Attack
    20 Mar 2026
    Bahman Azad, president of the US Peace Council, joins us to discuss the US/Israeli war of aggression against Iran. The US has committed war crimes by assassinating Iranian leaders, and bombing…
  • Horn of Africa
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Iran, UAE, Sudan, and Crises in the Horn of Africa
    20 Mar 2026
    Abayomi Azikiwe, Editor of Pan-African Newswire, discusses events in the Horn of Africa. The U.S. war against Iran is impacting the United Arab Emirates (UAE), whose Rapid Support Force proxies are…
  • Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Cuba, Venezuela and Regime Change
    18 Mar 2026
    Regime change is possible but not inevitable. Forces claiming to be leftist and claiming to be revolutionary must actually live up to the true meaning of those words.
  • Michael Manley
    Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    INTERVIEW: Cuba is Fundamental to Us, Michael Manley, 1977
    18 Mar 2026
    “If you can do that to Cuba because somebody doesn't like the Cuban revolution, then how do I know that you don't do that to me tomorrow?” 
  • ​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist , Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    What is the 'Left' in the Era of Global Fascism
    18 Mar 2026
    There is no coherent and sustained leftist movement at the very moment that U.S. led global fascism is accelerating.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us