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

Club None Long To Belong To…*
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
30 Nov 2022
🖨️ Print Article
Club None Long To Belong To…*

                                                                                         Club None Long To Belong To…*

 

No proof of residency, utility bills, bank

or vaccination records or two pieces of ID

Needed.

No bios, resumes, CVs, credit scores, or

References required.

No decoder rings/secret handshakes used.

No gifts given to joiners. No monthly news

letters.

No Mickey Mouse Club; Book Club; Buyers

Club or Nightclub.

Lifetime Membership Club: struggling to stay

exclusive—Fighting to keep others out…

Members instantly earn seasoned ears; helping

hands; broad shoulders; steadfast instruction in

Hugging.

Members learn when to call. What to say. When

to say it. When to feed/text/tweet—And when to

Shut the fuck up…

Monthly membership dues include sleepless

nights; ulcers; cancer; stroke; heart attack;

depression; divorce; anger and isolation.

Smells, songs, snacks, words re-stimulate

salinity, helping trace bitter tracks of members’

Tears…as they cry themselves to sleep nightly…

Members remember ‘The Call’ admitting them

to The Club as though nano seconds ago…

remember robotic motions/silent shrieks…

Birthdays/death dates still stir tsunamis of tears…

Death certificates double as membership cards bearing

“Justifiable Homicide” hashtags sanctioned by the

state

Members remember sweetness, savoriness of eats. Re

member fuzziness—foggy flashbacks—chuckles and

belly laughs…

Members remember surreality/shock and awe;

remember distrusting ears—

demanding— “Stop joking!!!” “Stop playing around!!!!”

Members remember automated voices—cold calls of

Strange Fruit messengers—remember ‘grapevine’ voices

and

poison penned/murder mouthed Fox-box foot soldiers digging

dirt—covering up crimes of testi-lying triggermen…

Members Remember…

pithy politicians’ semiautomatic… “…thoughts and prayers…”

Members remember fiery pulpits falling silent. Remember

teddy bears, liquor bottles, candles, hand-lettered signs, T

shirt likenesses and “say their names” strangers

going poof. Members remember Mr. Pain, Ms. Emptiness, Mr. McGrief

and No Getting Over It Crew…hanging out as house guests: Overseeing

State machine accountants and lawyers determining how much, if any,

Black Lives Matter…

*Inspired by groups of grieving parents witnessing for the world…



 

Police
Police Killings
Police brutality

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


More Stories


  • Black Agenda Radio February 17, 2023
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio February 17, 2023
    17 Feb 2023
    This week we hear about US relations with Nicaragua, and the introductory webinar for the People’s Senate. But first the effort to provide abortion access in Texas, a state which has banned the…
  • The Texas Equal Access Fund Assists with Abortion Services Despite a State Ban
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    The Texas Equal Access Fund Assists with Abortion Services Despite a State Ban
    17 Feb 2023
    The Texas Equal Access Fund works to expand access to abortion care while simultaneously shifting culture towards reproductive justice.
  • Nicaragua Succeeds Despite U.S. Attacks
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Nicaragua Succeeds Despite U.S. Attacks
    17 Feb 2023
    The Central American nation of Nicaragua has been the focus of US interventionism ever since the Sandinista revolution which occurred in 1979.
  • Jihad Abdulmumit and the Peoples' Senate
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Jihad Abdulmumit and the Peoples' Senate
    17 Feb 2023
    The upcoming introductory webinar of the Peoples' Senate will be held on Saturday, February 18.
  • Did the US Blow Up Nord Stream If There is No Media to Report It?
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Did the US Blow Up Nord Stream If There is No Media to Report It?
    15 Feb 2023
    A respected investigative journalist explains how the U.S. sabotaged the Nord Stream pipelines. But corporate media working in service to the state ignore the story and endanger the world.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us