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

SNAP elections?
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
04 Sep 2024
🖨️ Print Article
Woman in grocery store

Pushing rattling shopping carts down supermarket aisles
They came up empty searching for okra, collard
Greens, and black-eyed peas. Hunting 50lb. bags of
Beans, rice— and tons of tortillas— Hecho de mano …

Rolling empty shopping carts down deserted ‘discount’
Market aisles, they came craving ice cream and fig bars—
Not Black Hawk Helicopters, Predator Drones and Hi-Mars!
They came for crackers and cheese—not an eradicated disease!

Pushing streamlined shopping carts down barren
Supermarket aisles they came looking to load
Paper towels and toilet tissue … Not 2,000 lb.
Bombs—                    busting babies and budgets!

Rolling empty shopping carts down ghostly ‘discount’
Market aisles— sticker shocked—Hellfire Missiles
$110,000 a pop! Frozen F-16s won’t fit in their freezers! And
Salads of shrapnel-shredded flesh of children aren’t appetizing …

Angry stomachs growling—faces questioning—
“When will we see SNAP elections?
Elections of sticker-shocked/check writer blocked citizens
Receiving SNAP?

Elections of citizen crusaders wrestling price-gougers each
Month … And somehow surviving …          Citizen crusaders
Feeding gargantuan grandchildren—with mothers of all appetites—
As grifters drop MOAB: Mother Of All Bombs for murderous sport!

“When will we see SNAP elections—with all their imperfections—
Electing citizen crusaders receiving SNAP? Firing bipartisan chefs
Shouting, “Ain’t nothin cookin here but hot Hunger; War; Fascism—
MAGAt-Microwave-style—or Democrat Crockpot-style: Order up!”

 

(SNAP refers to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)

Š 2024. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

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.

Working Class
Inflation
Elections
War and Empire

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


Related Stories

Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright
U.S. Support of Israel is Absolutely an Issue of Affordability and Economic Populism…So Why Won’t the Democrats Discuss it as Such?
29 July 2026
The Democratic Party's continued support for Israel's genocide is not just a moral and political liability but also an economic one w
Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright
Race Trading Race Traitors, Identity Reductionism, and the New Nadir of the Democrat Party Establishment
15 July 2026
The social democrat wing gains in strength but establishment Democrats continue their allegiance to the donor class.
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Short word problems: do the math
03 June 2026
Work these word problems. Work them as if your lives depend onYOUR correct answers.YOUR solutions … Because they do:
John Parker
Socialist candidate John Parker: Abolish ICE and police, fund people’s needs
22 April 2026
Following is a recent campaign meeting talk by socialist congressional candidate John Parker.
Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
BAR Book Forum: Zophia Edwards’ Book, “Fueling Development”
01 April 2026
In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book.
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
Donald Trump and the Truth About Robert Mueller
25 March 2026
Donald Trump is not lying about Robert Mueller.
Gary Wilson
Dow 50,000 — and workers selling blood
18 February 2026
The Dow Jones hit 50,000, yet 200,000 people a day are selling their blood plasma to survive.
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Day 40-something pedophile-protecting government shutdown
19 November 2025
Day 40-something of pedophile-Protecting-government shutdown —Snapshot of resistance revealed our unwillingness to 
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Tuesday night’s tiny glimpse of what The People really want
12 November 2025
“Universal suffrage is thus the gauge of the maturity of the working class.
Jon Jeter
Stagflation Returns, Shining a Spotlight on the Federal Reserve’s War on the Working Class
06 August 2025
History exposes the Fed's inflation fight for what it truly is: a decades-long class war waged against working people under the guise of moneta

More Stories


  • Glen Ford and Michael Eric Dyson 2008 Debate on Democracy Now
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Glen Ford and Michael Eric Dyson 2008 Debate on Democracy Now
    29 Jul 2022
    On January 9, 2008 Glen Ford debated Michael Eric Dyson on the program Democracy Now. The topic of discussion was Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.
  • Abuses in the Child Protection System
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Abuses in the Child Protection System
    29 Jul 2022
    Across the country entities that are known as child welfare agencies regularly break up black families by claiming to care for the needs of children. Amanda Wallace is the founder of Operation Stop…
  • Save the University City Town Homes
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Save the University City Town Homes
    29 Jul 2022
    Rasheda Alexander is a tenant organizer at the University City Town Homes in Philadelphia. She joins us to discuss their struggle to stop a mass eviction amidst the proposed sale of their affordable…
  • Glen Ford's Irreplaceable Journalism
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Glen Ford's Irreplaceable Journalism
    27 Jul 2022
    I was very proud to write the preface to Glen Ford's book, The Black Agenda, which was published posthumously by OR Books. As we approach the first anniversary of Glen's passing, I endeavored to…
  • Glen Ford's Ukrainian Crystal Ball
    Glen Ford , BAR executive editor
    Glen Ford's Ukrainian Crystal Ball
    27 Jul 2022
    Glen Ford was among the speakers at a May 16, 2014 teach-in on Ukraine sponsored by the International Action Center. The event was held at The Riverside Church in New York City in the wake of the…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us