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


  • On the Biden Plantation
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    On the Biden Plantation
    19 Jan 2022
    The idea that Joe Biden would provide harm reduction was created to help the unpopular candidate secure an electoral victory.
  • SPEECH: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., All Labor Has Dignity, March 18, 1968
    Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    SPEECH: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., All Labor Has Dignity, March 18, 1968
    19 Jan 2022
    Martin Luther King was assassinated when he supported Black workers on strike in Memphis, Tennessee.
  • The Biden-Harris Administration is a Political Expression of the Empire’s Crisis of Legitimacy
    Danny Haiphong, BAR Contributing Editor
    The Biden-Harris Administration is a Political Expression of the Empire’s Crisis of Legitimacy
    19 Jan 2022
    The crisis of legitimacy is becoming more and more obvious. Joe Biden exemplifies oligarchic rule and a system in decline.
  • Waiting for a Schmo: Theater of the Absurd!
    Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    Waiting for a Schmo: Theater of the Absurd!
    19 Jan 2022
    Waiting for a Schmo: Theater of the Absurd!
  • from the site: https://www.lawfirm4immigrants.com/bidens-immigration-policy-2021/
    Jemima Pierre, BAR Editor and Contributor
    The 700,000 Club: Joe Biden’s Deportation Frenzy
    19 Jan 2022
    In under a year, the Biden regime has detained and deported more asylum seekers than his predecessor, demonstrating that there is an alignment among the US political elites – of both parties –
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us