by Raymond Nat Turner
Where’s The 12th Man—
All 137.6 decibels—
For Mumia and Maroon?
12th Man
by Raymond Nat Turner
From “Yes, we can” to The 12th Man
The 1%’s calling all the power plays—
Bootlegging, blitzing, sacking our daze…
Sunday we sat slurping beer,
Gobbling pizza and buckets
Of chicken like madmen, ‘til
Heartburn and boredom set
In, ‘til The Questions came
Whizzing past like pockets full
Of cherry red challenge flags:
Where was The 12th Man
Shrieking, screaming, loud
As an Aircraft carrier’s flight
Deck for Marilyn Buck?
Where was The 12th Man
Shouting full-throated,
Loud as Apache and
Blackhawk Helicopters
For Herman Wallace?
Where’s The 12th Man—
All 137.6 decibels—
For Mumia and Maroon?
Where’s The 12th Man—
Bursting eardrums for
Whistleblowers Manning,
Snowden and Assange?
Where’s the quarterback,
The field general, that
Comes up to the line
Barking: ANGOLA
ATTICA #77A4283
CUT-CUT-CUT?
Where’s the coach that
Will argue over calls like
Leonard Peltier? Or Hugo
Pinell and Albert Woodfox—
Four decades in bathroom-
Sized, windowless, torture
Chambers, cut off from fresh
Air, sunlight, Vitamin D
22-24 hours a day? Cruel,
Slow deaths, strip sacking
Spirits, bodies and minds of>
Political prisoners & prisoners
Of war who, game faces on
Against water hoses, cattle
prods, German shepherds,
Bullets and buckshot,
Took the field for us all
Quadruple, triple, double
Overtime, or sudden death,
This game’s been going
On too long—
Where’s the Terrible
Towels, the Lambeau Leap
Where’s the raucous carrying
On in the Dog Pound, boisterous
Behavior in the Black Hole, where’s
The Wall of Fame, Ring of Honor
Where’s The 12th Man for our
Political prisoners & prisoners of war?
>
Scholar, author, and activist Dr. Cornel West recently announced his 2024 presidential campaign. He discussed his platform and decision to be a candidate for the Green Party nomination.
The recent indictments of former president Donald Trump are political acts intended to keep him from becoming president again. But the impact of dubious legal precedent should be of greater concern…
The United States has declared war against the Cuban people for more than 60 years.
Read this essay by Afro-Surinamese writer and resistance fighter, Anton de Kom, about the entrenched legacy of Dutch racism and colonialism in the Caribbean.
Dr. Cornel West announced a presidential run as a People's Party candidate but later announced he was seeking the Green Party nomination.
