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


  • The Rise of NATO in Africa
    Vijay Prashad
    The Rise of NATO in Africa
    31 May 2022
    NATO is not the defensive alliance of north Atlantic nations that it claims to be. It is a tool of imperialism which has spread its handiwork all over the world, including on the African…
  • The People’s Summit for Democracy Offers a Progressive Vision to Counter U.S. Dominance in the Region
    Sheila Xiao and Manolo De Los Santos
    The People’s Summit for Democracy Offers a Progressive Vision to Counter U.S. Dominance in the Region
    31 May 2022
    The People's Summit for Democracy will be a much needed counterweight to the U.S. dominated Summit of the Americas.
  • Summit of the Americas or Summit of the United States of America?
    Bertony Dupont
    Summit of the Americas or Summit of the United States of America?
    31 May 2022
    The U.S. is using the upcoming Summit of the Americas to bully the rest of the region. The current puppet leader of Haiti must follow U.S. dictates yet is invited, while legitimate leaders…
  • Pan-Africanism Yes! U.S. AFRICOM and NATO No!
    Abayomi Azikiwe
    Pan-Africanism Yes! U.S. AFRICOM and NATO No!
    31 May 2022
    Pan-African solidarity and the struggle against imperialism are key in advancing the condition of African states and peoples.
  • Black Agenda Radio May 27, 2022
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio May 27, 2022
    27 May 2022
    East New York Community Land Trust reports on NYPD use of vacant land, John Parker's fact-finding trip to Russia and Ukraine, and a Greenville, North Carolina organizer explains the significance of…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us