by BAR poet-in-residence Raymond Nat Turner
Since that November
Night in ’08, Negroz
Ain’t been straight…
On the Night Negroz lost their minds…
by BAR poet-in-residence Raymond Nat Turner
Perhaps it’s the crack
I smoked, the lines
I snorted, the ludes
I dropped, the shit
I shot, the rot gut
I gulped on the A
Train hurtling uptown
That’s agitating me—
Perhaps I’m dating
Myself—lubricant in
Right hand—fantasizing
About yesteryears
African- Americans walked
Vertical like asymmetrical
Street soldiers, sacred
In tens of thousands,
Instead of slithering on red,
White and blue bellies,
Like silly putty-headed
Bamboozled babies—
Their un-fused Fontanel lobes
Parker Bros. playthings…
I recall with horror
That November night
Negroz lost their minds
As if they’d had a huge
Hit of Goebbels shit!
Eyes wide, brains fried
Frostbitten feet, freeze-
Dried tears, hallucinating…
Since that November
Night in ’08, Negroz
Ain’t been straight…
Somethin’ spellbinding about
Smoke & mirror Mc Daddy
Hawkin’ worthless “Yes,
We can” buttons and
T-shirts, counterfeit change
In trillion dollar deals
For carriers, cluster
Bombs, Hellfire Missiles,
As world champion
Purveyor of violence
Something bewitching ‘bout
Bankster bailouts and
Being in back pockets
Of Fortune 500
Pharmaceutical and
Insurance companies—
Somethin’ intoxicating
About clean coal ties,
Pipeline binding, ALEC,
The brothers Koch and
Trade agreements off-
Shoring jobs Negroz need!
I’m mad at Negroz,
Yet LOVE Negroz MADLY
I pray they grow up
& come down with some
Adult politics…
The 55th anniversary of the Newark, New Jersey rebellion, how the child welfare system damages Black children and families, and how the United Nations creates suffering in Haiti.
On July 12, 1967, a five-day long rebellion took place in Newark, New Jersey. We speak to Larry Hamm, President of the Newark based Peoples Organization for Progress, which is commemorating the…
Joyce McMillan is the founder of JMacForFamilies, which works to abolish the current punitive child welfare system and to strengthen the systems of supports that keep families and communities…
The United Nations Security Council is discussing whether to extend or to end its mandate over Haiti. The vote was delayed as requested by China, a permanent member of the Security Council. Far from…
Danny Haiphong and Margaret Kimberley discuss recent BAR articles, Protesting for Jayland Walker and
