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

Dancing in the streets…
BAR Poet-in-Residence Raymond Nat Turner
02 Oct 2019
🖨️ Print Article
Dancing in the streets…
Dancing in the streets…

“The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible”—Albert Einstein

Calling out ‘round the world—
are you ready for
Class struggle heating up
all spheres of life with
Superstorms of new soldiers?
Tsunamis of 21st century fighters
Flooding from Ferguson, Gaza, Baltimore, 
Occupy, Madison, #Me Too, Arab Spring,
Central America, Standing Rock…steeling 
Themselves seeking solutions?

Calling out ‘round the world—
are you ready for 
a brand new beat? More
about its abundance of
All Stars than Junior;
Millions more Vandellas than 
Martha; Tens of millions more
Miracles than Smokey; Billions
more Supremes than Diana?

Faces fresh as the 
first day of school
Were not skipping class,
Toyi-toyiing to University
of Class Struggle chants;
Their fresh eyes studied— 
up close—the tilted table,
marked cards, loaded dice,
Cooked books…The game
Rigged against those
watching their islands 
Sink beneath waves; those
Losing their farms to deserts…
Rigged like ‘hearings’ to
hear what fossil fools
Heard 30 years ago!

Faces fresh as the 
first day of school
Fresh eyes studied math closely:
Multiplication=addition for the 99%—
Division/subtraction=the1%’s chance…
Fresh eyes studied 
Weaponized words in English:
“civilian casualties,” 
“collateral damage,”
“enhanced interrogation technique—” 
“extraordinary renditions” from
Multibillionaire 
Media ain’t “mainstream…”

Fresh eyes studied Government: 
Truthful politicians, dry water,
gentle murder, walking war crimes;
Studied $election $campaign circuses—
Clowns 
Working crowds for1% pick pockets;
Studied 
Bullet points: police protect tents, 
cranes, cardboard mattresses;and 
Serve caged climate migrant kids
soiled clothes, fever, lice, scabies—
Compliments of capitalism!

Faces fresh as the 
first day of school,
Fresh eyes studied
Odds, gambled—Bet on
the sun, wind, water and
Themselves…

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

COMMENTS?

Please join the conversation on Black Agenda Report's Facebook page at http://facebook.com/blackagendareport

Or, you can comment by emailing us at comments@blackagendareport.com

Climate Crisis

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


Related Stories

Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright
Theme From the Bottom: Post COP 30 Reflections and the Case for a Global Bottom/Up Collective Intervention of Oppressed and Colonized People
26 November 2025
The path to climate liberation requires a radical break from failed leadership and a serious commitment to class analysis.
Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright
The Paris Climate Agreement is the Global Climate “Movement’s” Two State Solution
01 October 2025
The Paris Climate Agreement is akin to a two-state solution for a planet on the brink, a falsehood giving the ecocide perpetrators cover for th
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
The fire this time … (as Amiri tolt me)
29 January 2025
“Scratch a lie—find a thief !”
Abayomi Azikiwe, Black Agenda Report Contributor
COP29 Summit Marked by Acrimonious Debate Over Emissions and Finance
27 November 2024
Annual climate gathering reflects divisions between the industrialized states and the Global South.
Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright
Unprincipled, Unstrategic, and Unsustainable: e(U)logy for the U.S. Climate “Movement”
13 November 2024
The ineffectiveness of the climate movement during the 2024 election signals its inevitable collapse.
Max Ajl
Dismantling Green Colonialism: Stages of a Just Transition?
09 October 2024
Dismantling Green Colonia
How the Climate Crisis is Most Detrimental to the Black Community
Forrest Palmer
How the Climate Crisis is Most Detrimental to the Black Community
19 July 2023
The earth recently experienced its hottest days on record. Here in the U.S.
Biden Redeploys Pentagon Troops to Somalia While Humanitarian Crisis Looms
Abayomi Azikiwe
Biden Redeploys Pentagon Troops to Somalia While Humanitarian Crisis Looms
25 May 2022
Joe Biden's troop redeployment in Somalia is a continuation of a 30-year long US intervention.
COP26 climate meeting
The Editors
COP26: Black Agenda Report Special Issue
17 November 2021
Black Agenda Report is giving special attention to the recent COP26 climate summit.
Climate Action Pretense at COP26
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
Climate Action Pretense at COP26
17 November 2021
Joe Biden’s presence at COP26 was a photo opportunity giving the impression that he is fighting the climate crisis. But the U.S.

More Stories


  • The Black Alliance for Peace Condemns the "America COMPETES Act"
    Black Alliance For Peace
    The Black Alliance for Peace Condemns the "America COMPETES Act"
    09 Feb 2022
    The America COMPETES Act passed by the House of Representatives is a futile effort to "contain" China, and a de facto attack on that country.
  • How Lebanon Exploits Migrant Workers
    Tessa Fox
    How Lebanon Exploits Migrant Workers
    09 Feb 2022
    The kafala system allows residents to bring workers into Lebanon, where they are often abused and overworked with no recourse to protection under labor laws.
  • SPEECH: (Re)Centring African Epistemologies: An Intellectual Journey, Oyèrónkẹ́ Oyěwùmí, 2021
    Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    SPEECH: (Re)Centring African Epistemologies: An Intellectual Journey, Oyèrónkẹ́ Oyěwùmí, 2021.
    09 Feb 2022
    Nigerian scholar Oyèrónkẹ́ Oyěwùmí’s speech upon acceptance of the African Studies Association’s Distinguished Africanist Award offers an important reminder of the role of racist and sexist hie
  • The current crisis in Ukraine had its beginnings in 2014, when the U.S. allied itself with right wing, white supremacist forces to overthrow an elected government. Supposed leftists in this country were largely silent about the danger and were themselves supportive of white supremacist politics carried out by the U.S. and its NATO partners. 
    ​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist
    Left-Right White Solidarity Basis of Support for U.S./EU/NATO Wars on Global Humanity
    09 Feb 2022
    The current crisis in Ukraine had its beginnings in 2014, when the U.S. allied itself with right wing, white supremacist forces to overthrow an elected government.
  • Eight times the United States Has Used Biological and Chemical Weapons Since WWII
    Danny Haiphong, BAR Contributing Editor
    Eight times the United States Has Used Biological and Chemical Weapons Since WWII
    09 Feb 2022
    U.S. accusations of human rights abuses elsewhere ring hollow.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us