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


  • A Department of Homeland Security internal document acknowledges that deportations of Haitian asylum seekers are in violation of US law.
    Hamed Aleaziz
    An Internal Document Shows DHS Officials Advised Against Haitian Deportations, Fearing They Could Violate Human Rights Obligations
    14 Dec 2021
    A Department of Homeland Security internal document acknowledges that deportations of Haitian asylum seekers are in violation of US law.
  • Frederick Douglass and American Empire in Haiti
    Peter James Hudson
    Frederick Douglass and American Empire in Haiti
    14 Dec 2021
    Toward the end of his life, Frederick Douglass served briefly as U.S. ambassador to Haiti.
  • How the Black Education Movement Took on the Racist Schools System
    Emmanuel Onapa
    How the Black Education Movement Took on the Racist Schools System
    14 Dec 2021
    A new archive tells the story of a radical community collective formed in the 1960s to challenge the treatment of Black pupils in UK schools.
  • The Execution of Julian Assange
    Chris Hedges
    The Execution of Julian Assange
    14 Dec 2021
    Julian Assange committed empire’s greatest sin. He exposed it as a criminal enterprise. He documented its lies, callous disregard for human life, rampant corruption and innumerable war crimes.
  • AFRICOM, the US Africa Command, Tool of U.S. Global Hegemony
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    AFRICOM, the US Africa Command, Tool of U.S. Global Hegemony
    08 Dec 2021
    The U.S. Africa Command, AFRICOM, is a tool of destabilization for the US/EU/NATO axis of domination.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us