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

Gambling Man
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
10 Jun 2026
🖨️ Print Article
Jean-Claude 'Baby Doc' Duvalier
Jean-Claude 'Baby Doc' Duvalier, son of Haitian dictator Francois 'Papa Doc' Duvalier, is flanked by military guards as he reviews the troops at the Presidential Palace in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Photo: AP / Headline: People's World Archives

Even though the table’s tilted; the dice are loaded;
and the cards are marked; even though light-fingered
double-dealers declare that we “don’t have the cards;”
I’m a gambling man.
Betting on The People
everyday.

I’m a gambling man.
Betting on The People
everyday.
I’m a gambling man.
Betting on Everyday People
everyday.

I’m a gambling man.
Betting on Everyday People
everyday.
Betting on ordinary ones
doing extraordinary, all hands on deck, things.
Doing disbanding circular firing squad things.

I’m a gambling man.
Betting on ordinary ones doing extraordinary things — 
magic — magic that made Mrs. Marcos flee the Philippines
leaving behind hundreds of pairs of her pricey shoes.
Magic that lifted The Shah from peacock throne and made 
Mobutu, Batista, Baby Doc, The Samosas and Assad … disappear …


© 2026. 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.

resistance
organizing
Black Liberation
Working Class

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


Related Stories

Austin Cole
Attica Lives and Shares Lessons on Abolitionist Internationalism & Anti-Imperialist Solidarity
09 September 2026
The Attica rebellion was not only about prison "reform." The prison is the most intense expression of a system of imperialist domination that o
Dhoruba bin-Wahad
Dhoruba Bin Wahad, Co-Founder of Black Liberation Army, Reflects on the Legacy of Assata Shakur and Revolutionary Sacrifice
03 June 2026
On May 30, 2026, a Celebration of the Life and Legacy of Assata Shakur was held at the Riverside Church in New York City.
​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist
Malcolm X and Human Rights in the Time of Trumpism: Transcending the Masters Tools
20 May 2026
This piece was originally published in Black Agenda Report i
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
That Sunday morning Mom cried …
20 May 2026
I.I awakened early that Sunday morning. Seized time fortalking, that Sunday morning. Time for connecting.
Mark P. Fancher
If Iran has the Strait of Hormuz, What Can Black People Use for Leverage and Power?
13 May 2026
Tennessee just erased its only majority-Black voting district.
Wolfgang Bronner
Entertainment as Militarization: The Spectacle of the Super Bowl & WrestleMania in Nashville
06 May 2026
The spectacle of major sporting events does not simply distract from a city's crackdown on the working class.
Mark P. Fancher
Political Snobbery Delays Black Liberation
29 April 2026
The conditions are ripe for growing Black political consciousness, but revolutionary movements must broaden their reach to all sectors and clas
Mark P. Fancher
When Black People are Xenophobic They Risk Black Deaths in Iran
25 March 2026
Black youth fed xenophobia instead of international solidarity become military pawns who risk their own lives and their people's libe
Stephen Millies
The War Against Black Workers
04 March 2026
Black workers built a strong U.S. labor movement.
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
ESSAY: Resurrection City: The Dream…The Accomplishments, Jesse Jackson, 1968
18 February 2026
“The Poor People’s Campaign is the greatest single challenge ever unleashed upon our colonial system.”

More Stories


  • Federal Judge Tackles Police Immunity Law
    Marjorie Cohn
    Federal Judge Tackles Police Immunity Law
    26 Aug 2020
    The Black judge listed the injustices of “qualified immunity,” which allows police and other government officials to escape liability for their law breaking.
  • COVID-19’s Toll on People of Color Is Worse Than We Knew
    The Marshall Project
    COVID-19’s Toll on People of Color Is Worse Than We Knew
    26 Aug 2020
    Some coronavirus deaths, especially early on, were mistakenly attributed to other causes.
  • A Political Comeback for the Ages: Biden's Improbable Nomination
    Jon Jeter
    A Political Comeback for the Ages: Biden's Improbable Nomination
    26 Aug 2020
    The same corporate media that shamelessly boosted Biden’s candidacy, even when his popularity plummeted, never question his sudden comeback at the polls.
  • "Kamala Auntie’: On the Vulgarity of Bourgeois Identity Politics in 2020
    Julie Kuttappan
    "Kamala Auntie": On the Vulgarity of Bourgeois Identity Politics in 2020
    26 Aug 2020
    Harris’ identity as a woman of color has been propped up to cover for her decades-long loyalty to the ruling class, locking up working-class and poor people and deporting migrants.
  • Open Defecation Zones and the Shaming of Africa 3.0
    Zanga Chimombo
    Open Defecation Zones and the Shaming of Africa 3.0
    26 Aug 2020
     â€śVoluntourists” in Africa are actually jihadists for the West who defecate all over the continent in every way that defecation is possible.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us