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


  • BAR Book Forum: Dylan Rodriguez’s Book, “White Reconstruction”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Dylan Rodriguez’s Book, “White Reconstruction”
    19 Jan 2022
    In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book.
  • Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    “Pan African Solidarity is Key to Fighting Against Western Dominances”: An Interview with Kamau Franklin of Community Movement Builders
    19 Jan 2022
    The first year of the Biden presidency proceeds as one would expect from a man who always represented the most retrograde wing of the democratic party.
  • The Annual Resurrection of a Fake Dr. King and Re-entombment of the Black Liberation Movement
    Black Alliance For Peace
    The Annual Resurrection of a Fake Dr. King and Re-entombment of the Black Liberation Movement
    19 Jan 2022
    Black Alliance for Peace reminds us that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the product of a mass movement and at the time of his assassination was following the Black radical tradition.
  • Against the “Triple Evils”: The Biden Administration’s Affront to Dr. King’s Legacy
    Charisse Burden-Stelly, PhD
    Against the “Triple Evils”: The Biden Administration’s Affront to Dr. King’s Legacy
    19 Jan 2022
    Joe Biden and other politicians may evoke Dr. King's legacy but their actions are an affront.
  • Biden-Harris and the Never-Ending Commitment to War and Terror
    Salifu Mack , Erica Caines
    Biden-Harris and the Never-Ending Commitment to War and Terror
    19 Jan 2022
    Imperialism is the order of the day for Biden and Harris. There is no harm reduction for the U.S. or for people around the world.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us