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

Warriors we are…
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
22 Jun 2022
🖨️ Print Article
Warriors we are…
2020 San Francisco Protest (Photo: Kit Castagne)

                                                                                                                              Warriors we are…

                                                                                                 (For my Friend Larry’s lean years/in between years)

                                                                                                     “Victorious warriors win first and then go to war,

                                                                                          while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.”

                                                                                                                                 – Sun Tzu

Pop-pop-pop-pop—explosions! Kaleidoscopic
cracks of color, age, orientation—in motion—
But no one’s running. No one’s hiding behind
doors; behind desks; Fearing AR-15 weekly reports.

No howling lynchers, hangman’s nooses, hockey
sticks! No bear spray, baseball bats, brass knuckles!
No white supremacist supermarket shooters; No homo
phobic haters! No blu klux klan knees/chokeholds; No
Glocks killing because of—You name the verb—
“…while Black…”

Market and Main parade route. Banners waving,
festooned on San Francisco’s streets
Arms are bridges between dancers, huggers, high
fivers; between generous tossers of extra snacks.
Ivory smiles, improvised explosive devices blasting
stink-eye smug/mean mugs from blissful faces.
Joyful faces, cheering and singing harmoniously!
If this is what Warrior wins look like—we will be
Warriors for windmill/solar panel-size victories…

Everyday people—Warriors—wanting better.
Seizing strength through LOVE.
Rejecting realtors’ flagrant fouls: tarps, tents, card
board mattresses/urine-smelling, shit-slippery streets…

Everyday people—Warriors—wanting better.
Seizing strength through LOVE.
Sweeping stroke, diabetes, cancer, heart attack in four!
Winning dental/healthcare for ALL! Ejecting barking
bellies; trading Franken ‘food’ for Fresh Fruits/Veggies

Everyday people—Warriors—wanting better.
Seizing strength through LOVE.
99% Strength In Numbers—Arab Springs, Occupies, Strike
tobers, George Floyd Summers for un-fracked/unleaded
water
Everyday people—Warriors—wanting better.
Seizing strength through LOVE.
Springing up like Splash Brothers for three point
shots at DAs prosecuting killer cops; booking low Barr Boss
Tweet thugs bleeding budgets for death and destruction

Everyday people—Warriors—wanting better.
Seizing strength through LOVE—through
Justice and Peace pleading with us: man/woman up! Be
Spartacus, Che, Harriet Tubman, Douglass, Fanny Lou,
John Brown, Malcolm, Martin and close this game
Out…

© 2022. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

Former forklift driver/warehouse worker/janitor, 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.

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


More Stories


  • BAR Book Forum: Therí Pickens’s “Black Madness :: Mad Blackness”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Therí Pickens’s “Black Madness :: Mad Blackness”
    12 Jun 2019
    This book is dedicated to the Black mad and the mad Black everywhere.
  • “The Black Godfather": Clarence Avant and the Ruling Class Use of Black Pop Culture 
    Pascal Robert
    “The Black Godfather”: Clarence Avant and the Ruling Class Use of Black Pop Culture 
    12 Jun 2019
    Clarence Avant mastered pimping out Black identity to normalize the functioning of a nation premised on the oppression of his fellow Black citizens.
  • After Massacre by Militia, Sudan’s Civilian Forces Reject Junta’s Legitimacy
    Pavan Kulkarni
    After Massacre by Militia, Sudan’s Civilian Forces Reject Junta’s Legitimacy
    12 Jun 2019
    Amid a reign of terror, the Sudanese Professionals Association called on the international community to recognize it as the sole representative of the people. 
  • Black Nationalism and Liberation
    Garrett Felber
    Black Nationalism and Liberation
    12 Jun 2019
    We would be better served by understanding black nationalism as both liberative and anti-racist.
  • 98.3 Percent of Ghana’s Gold Remains in the Hands of Multinational Corporations
    Celina della Croce
    98.3 Percent of Ghana’s Gold Remains in the Hands of Multinational Corporations
    12 Jun 2019
    The amount of money pilfered by corrupt government officials pales in comparison to the wealth extracted by transnational corporations.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us