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

Warriors we are…
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
22 Jun 2022
🖨️ Print Article
Warriors we are…
2020 San Francisco Protest (Photo: Kit Castagne)

                                                                                                                              Warriors we are…

                                                                                                 (For my Friend Larry’s lean years/in between years)

                                                                                                     “Victorious warriors win first and then go to war,

                                                                                          while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.”

                                                                                                                                 – Sun Tzu

Pop-pop-pop-pop—explosions! Kaleidoscopic
cracks of color, age, orientation—in motion—
But no one’s running. No one’s hiding behind
doors; behind desks; Fearing AR-15 weekly reports.

No howling lynchers, hangman’s nooses, hockey
sticks! No bear spray, baseball bats, brass knuckles!
No white supremacist supermarket shooters; No homo
phobic haters! No blu klux klan knees/chokeholds; No
Glocks killing because of—You name the verb—
“…while Black…”

Market and Main parade route. Banners waving,
festooned on San Francisco’s streets
Arms are bridges between dancers, huggers, high
fivers; between generous tossers of extra snacks.
Ivory smiles, improvised explosive devices blasting
stink-eye smug/mean mugs from blissful faces.
Joyful faces, cheering and singing harmoniously!
If this is what Warrior wins look like—we will be
Warriors for windmill/solar panel-size victories…

Everyday people—Warriors—wanting better.
Seizing strength through LOVE.
Rejecting realtors’ flagrant fouls: tarps, tents, card
board mattresses/urine-smelling, shit-slippery streets…

Everyday people—Warriors—wanting better.
Seizing strength through LOVE.
Sweeping stroke, diabetes, cancer, heart attack in four!
Winning dental/healthcare for ALL! Ejecting barking
bellies; trading Franken ‘food’ for Fresh Fruits/Veggies

Everyday people—Warriors—wanting better.
Seizing strength through LOVE.
99% Strength In Numbers—Arab Springs, Occupies, Strike
tobers, George Floyd Summers for un-fracked/unleaded
water
Everyday people—Warriors—wanting better.
Seizing strength through LOVE.
Springing up like Splash Brothers for three point
shots at DAs prosecuting killer cops; booking low Barr Boss
Tweet thugs bleeding budgets for death and destruction

Everyday people—Warriors—wanting better.
Seizing strength through LOVE—through
Justice and Peace pleading with us: man/woman up! Be
Spartacus, Che, Harriet Tubman, Douglass, Fanny Lou,
John Brown, Malcolm, Martin and close this game
Out…

© 2022. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

Former forklift driver/warehouse worker/janitor, Raymond Nat Turner is a NYC poet; BAR's Poet-in-Residence; and founder/co-leader of the jazz-poetry ensemble UpSurge!NYC. You can Vote for his work at: GoFundMe and PayPal.

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


More Stories


  • Socialist Workers' Movement of the Dominican Republic
    Fighting Apartheid in the Dominican Republic is Essential!
    28 May 2025
    Fighting apartheid in the Dominican Republic is essential to achieving redress for people of African descent in that country.
  • Justin Fenton , Ben Conarck , Pamela Wood
    Forensic Failures: 36 Police-Custody Deaths Should Have Been Ruled a Homicide, Audit Finds
    28 May 2025
    Independent audit finds patterns of racial, pro-police bias in Maryland’s chief medical examiner’s office.
  • Louisiana Workers Council
    Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful’ Cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and More
    28 May 2025
    This fact sheet, put together by the Louisiana Workers Councils, explains how Trump’s “big beautiful” budget bill cuts essential services and benefits for workers in order to give to the wealthy.
  • BAR Radio Logo
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    Black Agenda Radio May 23, 2025
    23 May 2025
    In this week’s segment, we discuss the legacy of Malcolm X and the state of the political party that many Black people feel trapped in. We are joined by a guest in Libya who explains the lasting…
  • Richard Medhurst
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Independent Jourmalist Richard Medhurst Targeted by Western Governments Acting on Israel's Behalf
    23 May 2025
    Our guest is Richard Medhurst. He is an independent journalist whose work has been severely impacted by state repression in the UK and Austria. He was arrested and detained in the UK in August 2024…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us