CODE RED!!
Calling all street heat—shoe leather legislators—
Calling all pavement policymakers bored by the bigtop:
clean coal clowns; fossil fools; net zero acrobats; carbon
jugglers…Bored by greasy-thumbed grifters and jingoist
gangsters; Bored by junk metal-chested generals disguised
as donkeys inside elephants—Tethered to tits on Wall Street’s
bull… Blocking! Stalling! Gaslighting! Waging war by other names…
Calling all street heat—shoe leather legislators—
Calling all pavement policymakers bored by the bigtop:
tired of 2/4 Dancers dancing the Limbo from bended knees;
Tired of them spinning spineless legislation swaddled in
rectangular rags—reaching across their arid aisle and
Externalizing excrement. Leaving dung-splattered streets to
3 monkeys who See No Oil; Hear No Coal; Speak of No Gas as evil…
Calling all street heat—shoe leather legislators—
Calling all pavement policymakers… Who’ll stop
the circus from sullying our names with climate
crime? Who’ll say their names—their Wall Street
gang names—reconnecting them to climate crimes?
Who’ll say Superstorm Chevron?
Nor’ easter Exxon; Tsunami Shell?
And who’ll say Blackened bird BP?
Calling all street heat—shoe leather legislators—
Calling all pavement policymakers who may—or
may not—remember the Arab Spring; Remember Occupy
lingo “1%”/“99%.” Remember knitted brows; Remember
putting forehead to problems
created by person Hoods—aka corporate kings and queens…
Calling all street heat—shoe leather legislators—
Calling all pavement policymakers recall rubber
bullet, plastic cuff, bloody, broken bone, stolen eyeball-
tooth trauma…Recall draconian sentences required to
arrest killer cops; wrench slavers statues from pedestals;
Rechristen schools, streets, parks, plazas, teams; Retire
Unca Ben, Aunt Jemima with stars and bars at NASCAR
Calling all street heat—shoe leather legislators—
and scholars
Calling all pavement policymakers—and professors…
Study resistance. Major in mass action. Your gait, your
posture’s perfect—like ours once were—
Matriculate 2020-like. And defend dissertations entitled:
“Fossil Fuels, Force and Deception of The Corporate State—
University Of The Streets…”
© 2021. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Moore v. Harper, a case brought by North Carolina legislators who argue for the discredited “independent state legislature” theory. Eliza Sweren-Becker…
Brittney Griner's ordeal in Russia is over. But she has been secreted away for "reintegration" and the U.S. continues its own brand of international hostage taking.
What benefits do Black folk get by endorsing or participating in the white man’s war? Revisiting an anti-war statement by Langston Hughes.
The U.S. does not respect the right to health care, housing, employment, or education while making war on the rest of the world. What does the idea of human rights amount to in this country?
From culture wars to identity politics, it's easy to get sucked into toxic rhetoric and forget the reality of racism staring the US in the face.
