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

The Unemployment Question(s)
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
04 Feb 2014
🖨️ Print Article

by Raymond Nat Turner

Livin’ on nothin’, while hunger works full time

No wonder, some brothers stumble into crime.

 

The Unemployment Question(s)

by Raymond Nat Turner

 

Licking bitter flaps on unemployment envelopes

somewhere under the rainbow

Lies

true hues

in bright Red,

Black

and dark Blues:

 

Drawin’ unemployment’s like drawin’ straws

Drawin’ unemployment’s like drawin’ straws

We come up short under rich folks’ laws.

 

Livin’ on nothin’, while hunger works full time

Livin’ on nothin’, while hunger works full time

No wonder, some brothers stumble into crime.

 

And the rich cry, “...crime, crime, crime” every day

And the rich cry, “...crime, crime, crime” every day

While cocaine’s trafficked by the C-I-A.

 

We been slavin’ fo’ the mastahs and what we git?

We been slavin’ fo’ the mastahs and what we git?

Stack-o-papers to fill out, askin’ dumb shit!

 

“State here the reason you’re out of work.”

“Answer the following then report to the clerk.”

“Will you accept work in your usual trade?”

“What’s your income with benefits paid?”

“Do you own a farm, or a ranch?”

“Do you have a savings? What branch?”

“Did you look for work all this past week?”

“Where did you go, with whom did you speak?”

“Are you a citizen of the U.S.?”

“If answering ‘No’, then why not ‘Yes’?”

“Have a seat and wait to be seen”

“Any questions about what we mean?”

“Anyone in line who voluntarily quit?”

“Step out — go over there and sit”

“Sorry, you can’t be seen until ten —”

 

“Provided, you fill this out for WIN...”

 

We been slavin’ fo’ the mastahs and what we git?

We been slavin’ fo’ the mastahs and what we git?

Appointment

with

revolution

When we fit…

 

Raymond Nat Turner can be contacted at upsurgejazz.com.

 

Raymond Nat Turner © 1986 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


  • The City Has Failed University City Townhome Residents. They Should Pay For It — Literally
    Ernest Owens
    The City Has Failed University City Townhome Residents. They Should Pay For It — Literally
    17 Aug 2022
    The traumatizing clearing of the University City Townhome encampment in West Philadelphia symbolizes the ongoing racial injustice of gentrification. One solution: The city should buy the…
  • ‘West Wants to Change Regimes for Itself’: Africans Strategize In Washington Against Western-Backed Leaders
    Julie Varughese
    ‘West Wants to Change Regimes for Itself’: Africans Strategize In Washington Against Western-Backed Leaders
    17 Aug 2022
    The U.S. and its European allies often determine who will govern African nations. Attendees at a recent conference discussed how to end this dynamic and create true sovereignty on the African…
  • New Research Finds CIA Used Black Americans as Drugs Experiment Guinea Pigs
    Kit Klarenberg
    New Research Finds CIA Used Black Americans as Drugs Experiment Guinea Pigs
    17 Aug 2022
    The CIA's Operation Paperclip brought Nazi scientists to the U.S. and MKULTRA mind control experimentation was one of its projects. Black prison inmates were targeted for these unethical procedures.
  • Manufacturing Consent: How the United States Has Penetrated South African Media
    Ajit Singh, Roscoe Palm
    Manufacturing Consent: How the United States Has Penetrated South African Media
    17 Aug 2022
    The CIA has played a role in controlling South African media from the days of apartheid to the present.
  • Sudanese Communist Party Forms a New Alliance Committed to Ending Military Rule
    Abayomi Azikiwe
    Sudanese Communist Party Forms a New Alliance Committed to Ending Military Rule
    17 Aug 2022
    After withdrawing from the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), the Sudanese Communist Party has continued to call for democratic civilian rule.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us