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

Oooh, what a lil’ Movement can do…
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
08 Jul 2020
🖨️ Print Article
Oooh, what a lil’ Movement can do…
Oooh, what a lil’ Movement can do…

“There are decades where nothing happens;  and there are weeks where decades happen.” ― Vladimir Ilyich Lenin

Oooh, oooh…
Oooh, oooh…
Oooh, oooh…
Oooh, oooh…

Oooh, oooh, what a lil’ movement can do for you
Oooh, oooh, what a lil’ movement can do for you
Unca Ben and Aunt Jemima just suddenly retired
Cop-calling ‘Karens’ are being called out and fired
The stars and bars are now banned at NASCAR
And Euro drivers rallied behind the one Black star
suddenly confederate statues are tumbling down—
and young Euros are speaking fluent John Brown
Protracted struggle’s gifting time to cheer and brag
Even ol’ Mississippi pulled down its terrorist rag

Oooh, oooh, what a lil’ movement can do for you
Oooh, oooh, what a lil’ movement can do for you
Because worldwide tens of millions protested—
U.S. killer cops are being fired and arrested…
Legislation is piling up like white bales of cotton
and everyone’s noting that capitalism is rotten
quick, fast, and in a hurry—and out of desperation
politicians are passing reams of toothless legislation
bought and paid for ones don Kente taking bent knees
Maybe they’ll do splits, begging “Baby, please, please…?”

Oooh, oooh, what a lil’ movement can do for you
Oooh, oooh, what a lil’ movement can do for you
Youth see world-changing ain’t a spectator sport
Like Longshore workers shutting down the port
Not Yankees, Raiders, Warriors, Steph or LeBron
Time for sitting on the sidelines is long, long gone
Workers kicking racist gun thugs out labor’s house
as Democratic Party preachers play church mouse

Oooh, oooh, what a lil’ movement can do for you
Oooh, oooh, what a lil’ movement can do for you
New generations learn in University of the streets
studying night after night, testing phenomenal feats
Parks, schools, streets are rechristened at warp speed
elders mentor revolutionary youth taking the lead…
youth beaten, maced, tear-gassed, arrested and tortured 
No longer look for bad apples but the whole rotten orchard
We’ve grown weary of pleading for peaceful coexistence
as we’re relearning the awesome power of active resistance
Street heat’s sayin’ clearly “Normal don’t live here “No Mo’!”
The whole damn system’s thoroughly rotten and has gotta go…

Oooh, oooh…
Oooh, oooh…
Oooh, oooh…
Oooh, oooh… what a lil’ movement can do for you…

Poet’s note: Inspired by Lady Day, the great Billie Holliday

© 2020. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

BAR’s poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner is an accomplished performing artist. You can find much more of his work at http://upsurgejazz.com .

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

poetry

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


Related Stories

Editors, The Black Agenda Review
POEM: Poem for Walter Rodney, Edward Kamau Brathwaite, 1981  
11 June 2025
“any where or world where there is love there is the sky and its blue free
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
A few lines for the Poet Ojenke...
21 May 2025
RIP: Rise In Poetics to Ra
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
POEM: Reflections after the June 12th March of Disarmament, Sonia Sanchez, 1982
18 December 2024
“I have come to you tonite not just for the stoppage
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Love My Black Job
11 September 2024
Love my Black Job— Black Student Union Job! Hired at L.A. City College As “The Peoples Poet!”
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
POEM: Enemy of the Sun, Samih al-Qasim, 1970
29 May 2024
Read against the terrible incineration of Rafah today, this poem of resistance and refusal, by Pa
Image of Refaat Alareer sitting in a crowd of graduates
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
POEM: If I Must Die, Refaat Alareer, 2023
13 December 2023
Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer, a martyr of zionist state genocidal violence, has left us with a tale of resistance and hope.
Protest for Palestine at the White House
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Trigger Warning
22 November 2023
Trigger Warning Palestine’s the Answer— What was the Question?
Another June 1
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Another June 1
07 June 2023
                                       
BAR Book Forum: Jon Jon Moore’s “The Calling: Poems”
Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
BAR Book Forum: Jon Jon Moore’s “The Calling: Poems”
16 February 2022
In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book.
Our ‘democracy’
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Our ‘democracy’
23 July 2021
Shangri-La—untaxed, socially-distanced champagne- caviar, Cayman Island, yacht crowds who

More Stories


  • Detroit City Council Expands “ShotSpotter” After Two More are Gunned Down by Police
    Abayomi Azikiwe
    Detroit City Council Expands “ShotSpotter” After Two More are Gunned Down by Police
    19 Oct 2022
    Detroit resident Porter Burks was killed by police while in the midst of a mental health crisis. To add insult to injury, the city of Detroit is spending millions of dollars on dubious technology…
  • The Other Russia-West War: Why Some African Countries are Abandoning Paris, Joining Moscow
    Ramzy Baroud
    The Other Russia-West War: Why Some African Countries are Abandoning Paris, Joining Moscow
    19 Oct 2022
    France's colonial and neo-colonial history is now challenged in Francophone Africa by Russia's position as a world power rival to the US and other NATO nations.  
  • Brazilian Muslims Demand Harvard Return Skull of Enslaved Man Who Fought in Uprising
    Eduardo Campos Lima
    Brazilian Muslims Demand Harvard Return Skull of Enslaved Man Who Fought in Uprising
    19 Oct 2022
    Universities and museums around the world still hold human remains in their collections. Harvard University follows this discredited practice and has the skull of an enslaved Brazilian who took…
  • Black Agenda Radio October 14, 2022
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio October 14, 2022
    14 Oct 2022
    "Organize, Fight, Win: Black Communist Women's Political Writings", NYPD conceals evidence in the killing of Rameek Smith, and the Black is Back Coalition for Peace, Justice and Reparations says, "…
  • Charisse Burden-Stelly "Organize, Fight, Win: Black Communist Women's Political Writings"
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley , Charisse Burden-Stelly, PhD
    Charisse Burden-Stelly "Organize, Fight, Win: Black Communist Women's Political Writings"
    14 Oct 2022
    Dr. Charisse Burden-Stelly is an Associate Professor of African American Studies at Wayne State University. She is co-editor of the recently published book, Organize, Fight, Win: Black Communist…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us