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

Riddle of National Sovreignity
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
30 Jan 2019
🖨️ Print Article
Riddle of National Sovreignity
For empire, the national sovreignity of colonized states has always been a polite fiction

Brown body writhing in orange
flames; scents of burning hair
and flesh—so, how do you say
Lynching in Spanish?
Torched clinics were hollowed
out shells without medicines and
Hoarders warehouses stay stuffed
like piñatas while shelves and bellies
stay stuck on empty—so, how do you
say sabotage in Spanish?
Vultures prancing like red,white and blue peacocks
bloody talons pounding cold coup-coup clocks
To bloodthirsty butchers like Bolton, Pompeo and Pence
the notion of national sovereignty makes no sense

The smell of sulfur, of hidden hands—
Hitmen— mired in the ‘90s—1890s…
Rogue state actors craving coltan,
bauxite, gold, gas, oil from the soil—
Flaunting the rule of law, pulling
strings of stooges, strangling aspirations,
dreams— making another economy scream!
Vultures prancing like red,white and blue peacocks
bloody talons pounding cold coup-coup clocks
To bloodthirsty butchers like Bolton, Pompeo and Pence
the notion of national sovereignty makes no sense—
Makes no sense to criminal champagne, caviar,
Cayman Island crowds— Brooks Brothers klansmen,
bedfellows of butchers confusing embassies with
slaughterhouses

© 2019. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.
Our poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner is an accomplished performing artist,
You can find more of his work at http://upsurgejazz.com

poetry
Venezuela

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


Related Stories

Ricardo Vaz
Western Media Accept Trump’s Plundering of Venezuelan Oil as Business as Usual
28 October 2026
Venezuelanalysis editor Ricardo Vaz exposes how the media establishment presents no principled opposition to the imperialist predation of Venez
Issa G Shivji
Positioning Pan-Africanism In The Geopolitical Turmoil
21 October 2026
As we are experiencing a world order in disorder, with war and conflagrations and a shifting balance of power, Issa Shivji calls for a Sovereig
Stephen Millies
Don’t Let Them Kill Cilia Flores!
14 October 2026
While Trump pardoned an actual drug lord president, he keeps a kidnapped Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife, First Combatant Ce
Abel Prieto
Venezuela: It Is What You See
30 September 2026
A photograph of Delcy Rodríguez smiling with Donald Trump after the U.S.
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
The U.S. Determination to Achieve Full Spectrum Dominance is Not In Decline
23 September 2026
The trope of the United States being in a state of decline is a common one, but it should not be accepted without scrutiny. The U.S.
Jacqueline Luqman
The Perfect Victim Narrative Applied To Foreign Policy Only Keeps U.S. Imperialism Alive
23 September 2026
The demand to call out alleged crimes in Iran or Cuba while those countries face annihilation from the U.S.
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
The Ultimate Betrayal of Alex Saab and the Fate of Nicolás Maduro and the Venezuelan People
16 September 2026
The United States got its hands on Alex Saab a second time in order to use him in its case against Nicolás Maduro. The U.S.
Luciano Vasapollo
Cuba Stands Firm, Venezuela Risks Losing its Sovereignty
09 September 2026
Cuba's leadership has chosen resistance over subordination as the blockade tightens, but Venezuela's sovereignty is being stripped away.
Black Alliance For Peace
Declaration of a Zone of Peace
26 August 2026
From the blockade of Cuba to the kidnapping of Venezuela's president, U.S.
Kimberly D. Miller
Beyond the "Delcyification" of Analysis
19 August 2026
Siege, survival, and the dialectics of Venezuelan sovereignty.

More Stories


  • Canada Sets up Embassy in Rwanda, Amidst Growing Mass Anti-Imperialist Movement in Neighbouring DRC
    Christian Shingiro
    Canada Sets up Embassy in Rwanda, Amidst Growing Mass Anti-Imperialist Movement in Neighbouring DRC
    30 Nov 2022
    The opening of a new Canadian embassy in Rwanda is an effort to ensure that the plunder of Congo's mineral resources will continue under the protection of a US ally. 
  • Black Agenda Radio November 25, 2022
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio November 25, 2022
    24 Nov 2022
    Analysis of the 2022 midterm election results and a report on the COP27 climate conference.
  • 2022 Midterm Election Analysis
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    2022 Midterm Election Analysis
    24 Nov 2022
    Dr. Anthony Monteiro is a Duboisian scholar and founder of the Saturday Free School for Philosophy and Black Liberation, which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. He joins us from Philadelphia…
  • COP27 and the Climate Crisis
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    COP27 and the Climate Crisis
    24 Nov 2022
    Kali Akuno is co-founder of Cooperation Jackson in Jackson, Mississippi. He recently attended the COP27 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. He joins us to discuss why…
  • Xi Jinping, Justin Trudeau and White Supremacist Diplomacy
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Xi Jinping, Justin Trudeau and White Supremacist Ideology
    23 Nov 2022
    Western arrogance and anger about the economic prowess of a non-white nation resulted in Xi Jinping's very public dressing down of Justin Trudeau. 
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us