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


  • Rubble Kings: How the Violence Stopped and Hip Hop Emerged in the South Bronx
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Rubble Kings: How the Violence Stopped and Hip Hop Emerged in the South Bronx
    04 Nov 2020
    A fact-based, crowd-funded film on urban devastation and gang warfare in the South Bronx packs a bigger political punch than the cult classic, The Warriors.
  • The Long Shadow of Racial Fascism
    Alberto Toscano
    The Long Shadow of Racial Fascism
    04 Nov 2020
    Comparing Trump to European fascists often ignores the fact that racial slavery created its own unique form of fascism.
  • Letters from Our Readers
    BAR Comments Editor Jahan Choudhry
    Letters from Our Readers
    04 Nov 2020
    This week Covid-19, Left solidarity, and the duopoly were on your minds.
  • BAR Book Forum: Khosi Xaba’s “Queer Africa”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Khosi Xaba’s “Queer Africa”
    04 Nov 2020
    We are in a time zone wherein the problematic of queerness is being emancipated through story telling.
  • BAR Book Forum: Dean Spade’s “Mutual Aid”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Dean Spade’s “Mutual Aid”
    04 Nov 2020
    Mutual aid work is part of actually addressing survival needs right now, and getting to the root causes of problems.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us