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
  • omnibus

Testi-lyin’
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
07 Apr 2021
🖨️ Print Article
Testi-lyin’
Testi-lyin’

Northeast, midwest, southwest, south,
down south, up south, out south—south 
of the Canadian border—Slouched down
in his cruiser, slow-rollin’ the ‘hood; Or a-
top his horse, bullwhip barking at shiny
bent Black backs: “150 lbs of cotton today!”
It’s in his DNA—he’s trained that way…

Chokehold; blood choke; bullets to back; 
electric shocks; sheets; garbage bags or 
Overdoses of fists and foots intended to
Slay—it’s in his DNA—he’s trained that way…
Trained to follow orders of the 1%. The poor,
unhoused, unemployed, on strike, anti-war, 
water-protectors must be brought to heel…

“Raise your right hand—not that high—not
that angle. Do you swear to tell the the truth 
and nothing but the truth so help the founding 
fathers?”

“I do. Monday morning quarterbacks be damned—
second guessing officers—police work is hard!
Foul-mouthed disrespecting elders; beating 
people up—smashing doors and heads;
Invading homes; forcing yourself on women in
the line of duty—being a bully—judge, jury and 
Executioner is not easy…
Writing six-figure fiction sending men and 
women away on upstate adventures is tough—
it’s a thin blue line between class and ‘race!’”

“Do you know how hard it is to keep your knee 
on a man’s neck 9:29—9 minutes and 29 seconds?
It requires incredible concentration: Dispassionate 
demeanor of a scientist or professor demonstrating 
for his students; Focus of a TV prosperity preacher 
preaching scripture ‘bout Satan by showing rather
than telling; Calm of a Super Bowl quarterback leading
his team on a 9:29 drive to pay dirt… No, you don’t know 
how hard it is to work before hostile mobs—fearing for your
life; fearing for your partners’ lives, putting another Hulk
Hogan down—It’s a thin blue line between class and ‘race!’”
© 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


  • Pablo Meriguet
    Trump announces Guantánamo Bay base expansion to detain up to 30,000 migrants
    05 Feb 2025
    The project has caused indignation in Cuba, which claims sovereignty over the Guantánamo Base, occupied more than 100 years ago by the US military.
  • Toward the African Revolution
    The Lobito Corridor: US imperialism's latest plot against the Democratic Republic of Congo
    05 Feb 2025
    The Lobito Corridor is a key piece of infrastructure western powers are flooding with capital to pursue their imperialist aggression and exploitation of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
  • Fayha Shalash
    Buying the West Bank: Israel’s New Annexation Method ‘Catastrophic’
    05 Feb 2025
    Israel is accelerating its annexation of the West Bank through legal maneuvers that grant settlers direct ownership of Palestinian land.
  • Abdiel Rodríguez Reyes
    Panama: Self-Determination and National Popular Unity in the Face of Imperialist Irredentism
    05 Feb 2025
    President Donald Trump's recent antagonisms toward Panama have illustrated the need for the Panamanian people to build power through popular unity.
  • Black Agenda Radio
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio January 31, 2025
    31 Jan 2025
    In this week’s segment, we hear about a community forum that will discuss the need to organize in the wake of an acquittal in the 2023 killing of Jordan Neely in the New York City subway system.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us