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

For a neighbor: Hall of Fame Herb
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
28 Oct 2026
🖨️ Print Article
Herb Boyd
Herb Boyd, author and New York Amsterdam News columnist

“If you know whence you came, 
there is really no limit to where you can go.” 
—James Baldwin

How do we describe Hall Of Fame Herb?
Is he adjective, noun — or a swinging verb?
Bombing-ham-born — but raised in The D —
Where he would meet Malcolm before ’63!

He arrived determined. And he came equipped.
Bebop, Doo-Wop schooled — Hard Bop hipped.
Gracing BAI Fridays to “kick it” and schmooze,
Gifting riffs of news and views People can use.
Swingin prose infused with Black Bottom Blues
Harlemite manner of great Langston Hughes.

From Black Bottom Blues, to swing of Sugar Hill
His prose waltz through history with dazzling skill,
His anecdotes bequeathing us with thrill after thrill —
Since his old army sword recycled into African quill …

© 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.
 

Literature
Herb Boyd
Black Writers
Detroit

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


Related Stories

BAR Book Forum: Interview with Tyrone S. Palmer
Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
BAR Book Forum: Interview with Tyrone S. Palmer
23 February 2022
As part of the Black Agenda Report Book Forum, we interview scholars about a recent article they’ve written for either an academic journal or p

More Stories


  • 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.
  • Deportation
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    African Governments Participate in Trump's Third Nation Deportations
    24 Oct 2025
    Our guest is Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of Pan African Newswire.
  • Jamarl Ajamu
    ​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist , Jamarl Thomas
    Ajamu Baraka | "Very Dangerous Situation"
    22 Oct 2025
    Ajamu Baraka, BAR Editor and Columnist, joined Jamarl Thomas to discuss U.S. decline into overt fascism, the proxy war in Ukraine, and the regime change campaign against Venezuela.
  • Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    No Kings and the Lure of Spectacle
    22 Oct 2025
    The most recent No Kings march will hopefully be the last. A Democratic Party get out the vote effort is a show that obscures and obstructs the real work of organizing. 
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us