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

 For Brother Bruce
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
03 Jul 2019
🖨️ Print Article
 For Brother Bruce
 For Brother Bruce

Here’s the FOIA requested,
Redacted part of the story they never tell
You. 

Baby Bruce was wandering
the Midwest with Dorothy and Toto—
Before they picked up the Tinman in 
Pittsburgh, the Scarecrow on Staten Island,
the Cowardly Lion in Los Angeles
Baby Bruce had a baby brain, a huge
heart and fully formed courage that
would be schooled and steeled at the 
point of production—
Molding a straight-up soldier on
The Long March; A rank-in-file, 
meet ‘em where they’re at,
shoe leather, serve the people, 
door-to-door knocking, 
troublemaking organizer;
Chitown stubborn kinda fella— 
stubborn as a Georgia mule—
Refusing to slip, on Iceberg Slim
posing as community organizer…

He had huge heart, big brain and 
courage. Barrel of his pen blazing—
welcoming me from the wilderness,
Cali isolation, to fight side by side
Against the masked man— The
Drone Ranger; when icons and 
Legends were losing their minds

and Slutty Professors dangled
on the dick of Deporter-in-Chief!

When Bruce’s 404 popped up on my phone
It was business—but personal—laughing, joking, 
we’d cover the waterfront with lunch bucket language…
I pray The Wizard put a Bruce Dixon Organizer’s App
 on my phone countering some spyware…

© 2019. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

Bruce Dixon

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


Related Stories

The Courage to Write the Truth: Where and When Bruce Dixon Enters History
Dr. Matthew Quest
The Courage to Write the Truth: Where and When Bruce Dixon Enters History
21 August 2019
Bruce entered history as the most distinguished critic of the Black political class during the Age of Obama.

More Stories


  •  Haiti in the Caribbean: A Political Economy Perspective on the Urgent Crisis of Imperialism
    Tamanisha John
    Haiti in the Caribbean: A Political Economy Perspective on the Urgent Crisis of Imperialism
    23 Nov 2022
    If Haiti is "the poorest country in the hemisphere" it is because imperialist policies continue to impoverish and destabilize that nation. 
  •  Ethiopia Peace Deal: U.S. Proxy War By Other Means?
    Hermela Aregawi
    Ethiopia Peace Deal: U.S. Proxy War By Other Means?
    23 Nov 2022
    The people of Ethiopia are understandably relieved that a peace agreement now exists between their government and the TPLF. But aspects of the agreement may allow the U.S. to continue the conflict…
  • African and Indigenous Peoples: An Alliance for Defense, Survival and Revolution
    Mark P. Fancher
    African and Indigenous Peoples: An Alliance for Defense, Survival and Revolution
    23 Nov 2022
    The day known as Thanksgiving is an opportunity to remember how the settler colonial state began its genocide against both indigenous people and enslaved Africans. 
  • The End of American Thanksgivings: A Cause for Universal Rejoicing
    Glen Ford , BAR executive editor
    The End of American Thanksgivings: A Cause for Universal Rejoicing
    23 Nov 2022
    Glen Ford wrote many powerful essays, but his unflinching analysis of the history of the holiday we call Thanksgiving endures nearly 20 years after he wrote it.
  • “No More American Thanksgivings” and Other Essays Book Review: Glen Ford, 2022, The Black Agenda, OR Books
    Roger D. Harris
    “No More American Thanksgivings” and Other Essays Book Review: Glen Ford, 2022, The Black Agenda, OR Books
    23 Nov 2022
    Glen Ford's posthumously published book, The Black Agenda, is a testament to the enduring power of his work. 
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us