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


  • Abolitionist Teaching: An Interview with Sarah Abdelaziz
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor , Sarah Abdelaziz
    Abolitionist Teaching: An Interview with Sarah Abdelaziz
    04 Jan 2023
    "Abolition" is the word of the moment. But what does it mean? How should it be taught? Robert Sirvent and Sarah Abdelaziz discuss.
  • The Hopeful Legacy of Roberto Clemente
    Gus Griffin
    The Hopeful Legacy of Roberto Clemente
    04 Jan 2023
    Roberto Clemente was one of the all-time great baseball players and one of the best in a long line of Afro-Latinos. He also acted in solidarity with people around the world, which ironically led to…
  • Israel Got the Middle Finger at the World Cup
    Nizar K. Visram
    Israel Got the Middle Finger at the World Cup
    04 Jan 2023
    The U.S. brokered Abraham Accords normalized relations between Israel and some Persian Gul Arab regimes. But Israel discovered at the recent World Cup that the Arab masses are still in solidarity…
  • We Condemn the Raid on the Headquarters of the Haitian-Dominican Women's Movement
    Socialist Movement of Workers of the Dominican Republic
    We Condemn the Raid on the Headquarters of the Haitian-Dominican Women's Movement
    04 Jan 2023
    The Dominican Republic continues to abuse its Haitian descended population. The Haitian-Dominican Women's Movement (MUDHA) was recently raided by government agents.
  • Why One Organization Dubbed the U.S.-Africa Summit the ‘Meeting of Uncle Tom and Uncle Sam’
    Julie Varughese
    Why One Organization Dubbed the U.S.-Africa Summit the ‘Meeting of Uncle Tom and Uncle Sam’
    04 Jan 2023
    The U.S. Africa Leaders Summit held in Washington in December demonstrated the depth of U.S. disregard for African nations. The photo opportunity extravaganza proved only that the U.S. commitment to…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us