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

He’s under suspicion…
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
24 Feb 2021
🖨️ Print Article
He’s under suspicion…
He’s under suspicion…

The rioters all knew him—
it had to be an inside job—
‘cause to a man they spoke
to him by name as they
breached the building.
Read their lips…

And that staged chase? 
Please…
Why, if it had been real he
would have done what any
Officer fearing for his life would
have done—Any officer who feared
for his life the year before would
have done—Any officer who might
fear for his life in the next four
years would have done… Trust me.

And they pulled their punches—
sure he suffered a shiner,
busted lip; chipped tooth—
but he took those for the team…

Are you going to tell me that he
didn’t even have his name tag on
and every marauder greeted him:
“Officer N.Word—“ “N.” for short?”

© 2021. 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 https://www.youtube.com/user/zigilow

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

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!”
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
Pigment of your Imagination: Black magic mascots, props and sops?
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Pigment of your Imagination: Black magic mascots, props and sops?
15 July 2021
Could the pigment of your imagination cause Black magic mascots, props, sops— Black faces in high places—
A known known…
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
A known known…
08 July 2021
“…there are known knowns. There are things we know that we know. There are known
Twerkers of the World you might…(Or when they go low we get high?)
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Twerkers of the World you might…(Or when they go low we get high?)
01 July 2021
“History repeats itself,  first as tragedy, second as farce.” —Karl Marx

More Stories


  • Letter to Kaepernick: Where Do You Go from Here?
    Danny Haiphong , BAR contributor
    Letter to Kaepernick: Where Do You Go from Here?
    19 Sep 2018
    Long before the Nike deal it was clear that Kaepernick’s politics were being subsumed by other forces pushing a weak soup of “diversity” and “free speech.”
  • White Lies and Blue Codes: Laquan McDonald’s Killer Goes to Trial
    Paul Street
    White Lies and Blue Codes: Laquan McDonald’s Killer Goes to Trial
    19 Sep 2018
    Things could get very ugly in Chicago if the cop that killed Laquan McDonald is set free by a jury that includes only one Black person.
  • BAR Book Forum: Martha Escobar’s “Captivity Beyond Prisons”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Martha Escobar’s “Captivity Beyond Prisons”
    19 Sep 2018
    Rather than benevolent protector, the state enables and often perpetuates violence against marginalized communities, criminalizing them.
  • BAR Book Forum: Crystal Fleming’s “How to Be Less Stupid About Race”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Crystal Fleming’s “How to Be Less Stupid About Race”
    19 Sep 2018
    The racism of the larger society is internalized in us, including those of us who are Black and brown, and must be methodically confronted.
  • BAR Abolition Spotlight: Romarilyn Ralston
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Abolition Spotlight Editor
    BAR Abolition Spotlight: Romarilyn Ralston
    19 Sep 2018
    Incarcerated people are limited to pushing prison reform, while the unincarcerated have the privilege to advocate abolition.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us