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
  • omnibus

…In his head
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
10 Mar 2014
🖨️ Print Article

by Raymond Nat Turner

Dr. King’s Dream come true,

In his head! Black folks way better

Off, in his head, Rev. Wright was

Wrong, in his head!

 

…In his head

by Raymond Nat Turner

 

Headin’ downtown on the D train

The other day I overheard oration—

By a fella, to a fella, from a fella 51/50

“Mexicans takin’ our jobs; they hate

Our freedoms— but blurred lines,

Beyonce’s booty, NAACP Image

Awards, Robin Thicke & recovery

Jus’ roun’ the corner; smart phone,

Dr. Dre headphones lift me outta

Poverty; smart bombs protect my

Freedoms; I got 2,000 Facebook

Friends, a poke away, who gimme

My kidney & bone marrow transplant!”

 

Booming baritone thundering in

Harmony with the train, he continued

His melodious, rhythmic catechism,

“Since ’08 things been Great,” in his

Head, Dr. King’s Dream come true,

In his head! Black folks way better

Off, in his head, Rev. Wright was

Wrong, in his head! “Yes, we can,”

In his head, mo’ Black folks have

Homes since World War II, in his

Head! Mo’ Black wealth than ever

Before, in his head; fewer Black folk

Dyin’ fo’ they 70th, in his head; mo’

Black men goin’ to college than jail,

In his head, liars figure but figures

Don’t lie, in his head, in his head,

“Change we can believe in,” in his

Head, police stopped shootin’ us

Since that beer, in his head; we

Cool, long as Big Brother brown, in

His head! Oratory swelling like a

Dark cumulus cloud, lookin’ me

Dead in the eye, “This election the

Mos’ important election ever…”

 

“The rich say that every time,” I snapped.

He leapt up like a man possessed, banshee-

Rebel- wailing, “What, you ain’t votin’?

Nigger, get away from me, you is cra-aaa-zy!”

 

Raymond Nat Turner can be contacted at upsurgejazz.com

 

Raymond Nat Turner © 2014 All Rights Reserved

 

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


More Stories


  • Why Hasn’t Amy Cooper Been Arrested? The Case of Pink Pussy Privilege 
    BAR editor and columnist Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo and Robert Stubblefield
    Why Hasn’t Amy Cooper Been Arrested? The Case of Pink Pussy Privilege 
    03 Jun 2020
    While most advocates focus on police abuse of the black community, we must also hold accountable the people who call police and make false claims against black people.
  • Murder of Black Youth in Rio de Janeiro Shows Racist Nature of Policing in Brazil
    People Dispatch Staff
    Murder of Black Youth in Rio de Janeiro Shows Racist Nature of Policing in Brazil
    03 Jun 2020
    Pandemic or not, Brazilian police kill multiples of Black youth every day of the year. Fourteen year-old João Pedro Mattos Pinto joins the list of tens of thousands.
  • Black Agenda Radio for Week of June 1, 2020
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    Black Agenda Radio for Week of June 1, 2020
    02 Jun 2020
    Cornel West Endorses Larry Hamm for Cory Booker Seat in Senate
  • Former Black Panther Political Prisoner Hospitalized for Covid-19
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    Former Black Panther Political Prisoner Hospitalized for Covid-19
    02 Jun 2020
    Jalil Muntaqim, incarcerated for his political activities since 1971, contracted the Covid-19 virus and was admitted to the Albany, New York Medical Center, said Jihad Abdulmumit
  • Anti-Abortion Forces Would Impose Slavery-like Controls on Black Women’s Bodies
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    Anti-Abortion Forces Would Impose Slavery-like Controls on Black Women’s Bodies
    02 Jun 2020
    Black women’s bodies were property during slavery, and that power relationship “still continues today through measures to restrict women’s reproductive autonomy,” said Jill Morrison
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us