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

Army of Artists (For My Friend Horace Silver)
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
17 Dec 2025
šŸ–Øļø Print Article
Horace Silver
Medu Art Ensemble, Culture and Resistance Symposium and Festival of the Arts, 1982.

Harmony of a hug,
Rhythm of a rose,
Melody in the mirror

We are an army of artists
Merchants of life,
Beauty's our bomb,
Love its shrapnel…

We are an army of artists
Infantry on feet of celebration,
Toes polishing
Hardwood floors with perspiration

We are an army of artists
Brandishing sticks and brushes,
Softening up enemies with
Strokes and notes,
Partisans wielding pastels,
Oils and acrylics—
Connecting dots, hitting spots
On canvas and paper

We are an army of artists
Foreign fighters, formerly known
As Dukes, Counts, Birds and Pops—
Militant magi weaving dreams in
Azure skies, etching prayers
In mirrors with our acid tears

We are an army of artists
Asymmetrical warriors,
Mopping up murals
Gracing broken-down buildings—
Enemy combatants crying clear
Lacquer on contrabasses,
Snipers shooting sunlight into
Hearts held hostage by the 1%
Ellingtonia is our tonic…
For subdominant dreams

We are an army of artists
Dangerously unselfish,
Enemies of ignorance
Drumming to different dancers—
Staging attacks in theaters
Exploding in applause!

Ā© 2010. 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.

poetry
Art
resistance

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
MrJoeSam’s Text Messages
12 June 2024
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR’s poet-in-residence, pays homage to San Francisco’s shipyard artist JoeSam who died peacefully on June 1, 2024, surroun
Raymond Nat Turner
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Dis-honest Broker
01 May 2024
"Dis-honest Broker" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence, recently performed at UpSurge!
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Raymond Nat Turner at the UpSurge Jazz Celebration
03 April 2024
 
JoeSam art
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
MrJoeSam’s Text Messages
24 January 2024
MrJoeSam’s Text Messages
Image of Refaat Alareer sitting in a crowd of graduates
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
POEM: If I Must Die, Refaat Alareer, 2023
13 December 2023
Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer, a martyr of zionist state genocidal violence, has left us with a tale of resistance and hope.
BAR Book Forum: Jennifer S. Ponce de León’s ā€œAnother Aesthetics Is Possibleā€
Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
BAR Book Forum: Jennifer S. Ponce de León’s ā€œAnother Aesthetics Is Possibleā€
07 December 2021
In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book.
Reese Piece…
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Reese Piece…
15 April 2021
Salute to City of Angels’ son! He wrote, he wrote, he wrote And he wrote… Ramparts, The Progressive, The
First 100 Daze: A ā€˜new’ dance craze
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
First 100 Daze: A ā€˜new’ dance craze
27 January 2021
Everybody’s wild ā€˜bout this ā€˜new’ dance craze— this lewd, crude dance called ā€œThe 1st 100 Dazeā€¦ā€
mashing the state— Kristallnacht-style
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
mashing the state— Kristallnacht-style
20 January 2021
Kristallnacht came casting lead ballots, overthrowing Black elected officials and Massacring those that VOTED for them— 
This is what hypocrisy looks like…
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
This is what hypocrisy looks like…
13 January 2021
ā€œIt's like writing history with lightning.ā€œ ā€” Woodrow Wilson on Birth of A Nation

More Stories


  • Rodrigo DurĆ£o Coelho
    15 million Venezuelans enlist to defend their country amid U.S. threats, says ex-diplomat Carlos Ron
    29 Oct 2025
    He stresses, however, that the atmosphere is not one of panic despite the possibility of military aggression.
  • Pablo Meriguet
    Cuba denounces Trump admin pressuring countries to change their vote against the 62-year US blockade
    29 Oct 2025
    The Cuban foreign minister has stated that, in addition to diplomatic pressure, intimidation has been exerted on certain countries that condemn the economic blockade that Washington has maintained on…
  • Jemima Pierre and Mark Lamont Hill
    Jemima Pierre, BAR Editor and Contributor
    'Leave us alone': Scholar Jemima Pierre on ending Haiti’s foreign occupation
    29 Oct 2025
    As foreign troops, private contractors, and international powers tighten their grip on Haiti, the country is facing one of the worst crises in its modern history. But who is really to blame? On…
  • BAR Radio Logo
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio October 24, 2025
    24 Oct 2025
    In this week’s segment, we focus on Africa. We hear about the Black Alliance for Peace Month of Action Against AFRICOM and about African governments that cooperate with the Trump administration's…
  • Protest in Africa
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    International Month of Action Against AFRICOM
    24 Oct 2025
    Netfa Freeman and Margaret Kimberley are among the Co-Coordinators of the Black Alliance for Peace Africa Team.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us