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


  • Freedom Rider: How Trump Can Steal the 2020 Election
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR senior columnist
    Freedom Rider: How Trump Can Steal the 2020 Election
    05 Aug 2020
    The election was stolen from Clinton four years ago and the even weaker 2020 candidate can expect the same fate.
  • American Left Silence on China Helps Lay Foundation for the U.S.’ New Cold War
    Danny Haiphong, BAR Contributing Editor
    American Left Silence on China Helps Lay Foundation for the U.S.’ New Cold War
    05 Aug 2020
    When it comes to China, Democracy Now, Jacobin, The Nation and others on the imperial-minded US ‘left” are allies of white supremacy.
  • “We Need a National Industrial Commission, a Permanent One”
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    “We Need a National Industrial Commission, a Permanent One”
    05 Aug 2020
    Like the first Covd-19 relief package, the pending bill will have been written by “sleep-deprived staff and inattentive lawmakers who are making this all up on the fly.”
  • Testi-lyin’ low Barr
    Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    Testi-lyin’ low Barr
    05 Aug 2020
    a man ‘made’ $13 billion in a day—while  Stomachs of millions of men, women and  children are symphony orchestras tuning to “Last Days of Pompeo…”
  • Essays on The Cult of White Feminism: The “Cos”-play of Elizabeth Warren 
    Earl Hazell
    Essays on The Cult of White Feminism: The “Cos”-play of Elizabeth Warren 
    05 Aug 2020
    A Black artist looks at the role of White Feminism in neutralizing the Progressive and Socialist Left in America, and its consequences.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us