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


  • BRICS Expansion is Positive – But Not a Coherent Challenge to US Power
    Morning Star Online
    BRICS Expansion is Positive – But Not a Coherent Challenge to US Power
    30 Aug 2023
    The expansion of the BRICS beyond Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa is an important development but not one that will challenge U.S. efforts at domination.
  • Black Agenda Radio August 25, 2023
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio August 25, 2023
    25 Aug 2023
    Impending Haiti occupation and Black face imperialism, attacks on abortion and reproductive rights, how the climate crisis impacts Black people.
  • Haiti Under Attack from Imperialism in Black Face
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Haiti Under Attack from Imperialism in Black Face
    25 Aug 2023
    Austin Cole joins us to talk about the Black Alliance for Peace Haiti/Americas Team efforts to mobilize against the impending occupation of Haiti which will use African and Caribbean nations to do U.…
  • Attacks on Abortion and Reproductive Rights Harm Black Women
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Attacks on Abortion and Reproductive Rights Harm Black Women
    25 Aug 2023
    Qiana Arnold is a birth justice associate and a full spectrum doula at Support Your Sistah at the Afiya Center in Dallas, Texas.
  • The Climate Crisis, Part 1
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    The Climate Crisis, Part 1
    25 Aug 2023
    Forrest Palmer is a native of Los Angeles, California who is now an electrical engineer residing in Houston, Texas.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us