by BAR Poet-in-Residence Raymond Nat Turner
Molefi Asante’s brand of “Afrocentricity” means McCarthyism and race and class betrayal.
My Wise Country Cousin on Judas comin’ to Cali…
by BAR Poet-in-Residence Raymond Nat Turner
What de O’Jays say ‘bout how “Dey smile in ya face”
While, Afro-sin-triss-ticly, “tryin’ ta take ya place?”
Smilin’ Faces: “Don let de hanshake and smile ful ya”
Dey say “take mah advice, ahm only tryin’ ta school ya—”
Son, you beware ob de one, “Baba” dis, an “Ase” dat
‘Cause, mos lakly he de one wit de razur in his hat!
Negroz Wes’ getin’ nuz stagecoach, or Pony Express,
Bringin’ dat ol’ Moeffy boy to Cali to talk his mess?
In de lounge named after Huey Newton an Bobby Seal—
Dey heard ‘bout de brotherly love, back-stabbin’ deal?
Dey bringin’ Afro-Sin-tris-sick Judas in cap an’ gown
Dat caint eben draw five Negroz in his own town?
Seem lak dat Monterror boy at Tempull doin’ sum gud,
Teachin’ troof ‘bout Blak folk fight, to dose in de ‘hood
Wen dat Judas Moeffy boy start de bad-moufin’ an’ hatin’—
Dirty work ob de Tempull massas wit all dey red-baitin’…
Dey say de Monterror boy a Sowshallus an Marksis—
We say, “Gud, if he heppin’ de Norf Philly folk resis!”
Raymond Nat Turner © 2014 All Rights Reserved
Sonya Massey’s brutal murder at the hands of the police has resulted in anguish and anger but no difference in how state violence is protested. Instead, we see surrender to the crumbs of condolences…
For the late Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, Black music was a tool in the struggle for Black liberation, and not what it has mostly become today: a retrograde appendage to neoliberalism and white power.
Ajamu Baraka, Black Agenda Report editor and columnist, discusses observing the recent elections in Venezuela and why the U.S. still seeks to undermine that democracy.
Rwanda weaponizes the Rwandan Genocide to justify its violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), just as Israel weaponizes the Holocaust to justify its violence in Gaza and the West Bank.
The visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the United States highlights the role of imperialism in the genocide in Gaza.
