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

Trigger Warning
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
22 Nov 2023
🖨️ Print Article
Protest for Palestine at the White House
Protest for Palestine at the White House (Photo: Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters)

Trigger Warning

Palestine’s the
Answer—
What was the
Question?

Why the red line in the tan sand—splitting the
World into irreconcilable camps? Oppressed-
oppressors; Exploited-exploiters; haves-Have nots?
Why the flashing cherry red moral lights—Demanding
Decisive Action—NOW?

Why siren urgency of squawking shofars? Of searing
saxophones? Why are anti-genocide guerrillas riding
in the moment? Improvising like Jazz Masters? Rallying
Scorched earth actions— cutting off Business As Usual
Choke-points?

Why the occupations of great train stations? The re-routing of rail-
roads? Why the blocking of bridges? Why are ports being held hostage—
From the Hudson to the Pacific? Why the sit-ins in offices of Lilliputians
posing as lionized leaders? Why are corrupt congress members’ and
sleazy senators’ steer manure messages being blown out of the water?
Why are Moby Dick-sized lies of bought and bossed windbags getting
Shot down…. one-by-one?

Why do Hellfire Missiles of murderous, mustard seed-hearted men
incinerate our holiness? Coat our hearts with white phosphorus?
Strangle our souls?
Killing us softly with their
Wars?

Palestine’s the
Answer—
What was the
Question?
 

Š 2023. 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.

Palestine
poetry

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


Related Stories

Coleen Littlejohn
NicaNotes: Historic Solidarity between Nicaragua and Palestine
28 October 2026
Coleen Littlejohn presente!
Belen Fernandez
Israel’s Lebanese Land Grab
21 October 2026
Under the guise of a farcical “pilot zone” project to restore Lebanon’s sovereignty, Israel is pursuing a scorched-earth strategy whi
Gerald Perreira
October 7, 2023: The day that changed the world
21 October 2026
October 7, 2023, was not an isolated attack, but the culmination of generations of Palestinian imprisonment and resistance in Gaza, comparable
Edward Rhymes
What Changes For Palestine?
21 October 2026
Disregard for Palestinian rights is a feature of Israeli politics rather than a bug.
Dr. M. Reza Behnam
Three Years of Genocide: How ‘Never Again’ Lost Meaning in Gaza
07 October 2026
If international law and justice are buried in the rubble of Gaza, the global community will ultimately be digging its own grave.
Sami Al-Arian
Why Hamas believed the status quo was more dangerous than its 7 October gamble
07 October 2026
Three years into Israel's genocide in Gaza, the consequences of a decision driven by siege, settlement expansion, and assaults on Al-Aqsa are s
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
Defending a Non-Existent International Law
30 September 2026
The Hague Group’s goal is to “. . .
Roberta Rivolta
Western Activism and the Axis of Resistance
23 September 2026
Western pro-Palestinian activism isolates Palestine from its regional allies, depoliticizing its struggle and reinforcing colonial
Dhoruba bin-Wahad
Guardian Foray: All That's Not Real Is Camouflage
09 September 2026
An Open Letter from the American "Left" allegedly on behalf of unnamed persons said to be Iranian political prisoners has provided co
Libertad para Fergie
Free Fergie Chambers: Solidarity Is Not a Crime
09 September 2026
Fergie Chambers is an American philanthropist who was arrested on July 10 in Ibiza, Spain, by order of the Trump Administration.

More Stories


  • Erica Caines
    Dialectics, Iran and the Long DurĂŠe of Anticolonial Revolution
    08 Apr 2026
    The war on Iran is part of a class war against any country that refuses to open itself up for foreign profit. Understanding Iran means seeing its fight as part of the same struggle that defines the…
  • Adam Mahoney
    An Oil Explosion in a Black Texas Town Traces Back to Trump’s Iran and Venezuela Crises
    08 Apr 2026
    “The chickens have come home to roost,” one resident said. “Our exact fears have come true.”
  • BAR Radio Logo
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio April 3, 2026
    03 Apr 2026
    In this week’s segment, we discuss the impact on the voting rights of Black people if the SAVE Act is signed into law. But we begin with a discussion of an historic vote at the United Nations which…
  • UN resolution vote
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Crime Against Humanity
    03 Apr 2026
    Kwesi Pratt Jr. is General Secretary of the Socialist Movement of Ghana.
  • Stop the SAVE Act
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Votes Jeopardized by the SAVE Act
    03 Apr 2026
    The SAVE Act would require proof of U.S. citizenship to be presented in person in order to register to vote in this country and would disenfranchise millions of people who are currently able to vote…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us