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


  • Ethiopia, from The Development State to The Neoliberal State
    Djibo Sobukwe
    Ethiopia, from The Development State to The Neoliberal State
    26 Jan 2022
    The current conflict in Ethiopia must be examined with a deep analysis of that country's history.
  • BAR Book Forum: fahima ife’s “Maroon Choreography”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: fahima ife’s “Maroon Choreography”
    26 Jan 2022
    In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book.
  • Buenaventura, Colombia Strikes Against Racial Capitalism
    Herrinson Campara Campaz, Anthony Dest, Esther Ojulari
    Buenaventura, Colombia Strikes Against Racial Capitalism
    26 Jan 2022
    Before Colombia’s national uprising exploded in April 2021, struggles for justice in a majority Black port city set in motion a historic new wave of social protest.
  • Reagan’s “Shining City on a Hill” Was Really a Mirage
    Dr.Wilmer J. Leon, III
    Reagan’s “Shining City on a Hill” Was Really a Mirage
    26 Jan 2022
    It is best to be wary when American politicians create expressions like "shining city on a hill." One of Reagan's signature phrases has been reused time and again by republicans and democrats a
  • Automating Banishment: The Surveillance and Policing of Looted Land, a New Report from the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition
    Stop LAPD Spying Coalition
    Automating Banishment: The Surveillance and Policing of Looted Land, a New Report from the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition
    26 Jan 2022
    Surveillance is an integral part of policing in this country.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us