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

History’s Hired US
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
11 Dec 2024
🖨️ Print Article
resistance

Artificial intelligence cries
Freeze-dried tears over twisted,
Cruel contradictions of
Capitalism …

Corporations are people—yet
Never labor giving
Birth. Never cutting umbilical cords.
Never nursing newborns, night shift.

We are not war criminals …   Yet,
Weakness is our war crime!
Our movements not yet muscular,
Militant, robust—numerous enough …

Jobless, yet blessed with majestic work!
Penniless—yet far, far richer than spiritual
Paupers primping, preening, prancing and
Posing as the “World’s Richest!”

History’s hired us. She shouted, “Start immediately!
Erect edifices of truth reaching for the Sun and
Arresting light—Capturing castles of compassion …
Build your better world, mirroring recurring dreams!”

She commanded, “Comrade hearts—No left-
Sounding circular firing squads! Show up on time!
Lend muscle! Gift grey matter militantly— And
I will roll a big red toolbox your way for work: 24/7!”

She exhorted, “Weaponize white men in your wallets and
I’ll roll toolbox overflowing with ‘Nader Hour’ vice grips;
‘Democracy Now’ drills; ‘Upfront’ flashlights; ‘HardKnock’
Hammers; and ‘Building Bridges’/‘Move The Crowd’ magic!”

History ordered, “Hand over genocidal real estate thieves;
Slavers—and enablers—in your wallets; And,
I’ll roll toolbox loaded with ‘Letters and Politics’ pliers; ‘Jazz
Line’ levels; ‘Full Circle’ compasses; ‘Bay Native Circle’ blueprints!”

She shouted, “Purge your wallets of hypocrites and I’ll roll toolbox
Stuffed with ‘Law and Disorder’/‘Counter Spin’ saws slicing thru
White noise; ‘Africa Today’ awls piercing leather lies; ‘Flashpoints’
Files/‘Against The Grain’ sandpaper smoothing ‘Old Hickory’ splinters!”

“I’ll roll ‘On The Ground,’ holding ‘Houston Jazz Spotlight,’
Illuminating ‘Transitions On Traditions;’ ‘Talkies’ tape measure—
Measuring twice/cutting once— your losses to remote-controlled
Traitor-thugs …           And those suffocating confederate cults …”

© 2024. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

Raymond Nat Turner is a NYC poet; BAR's Poet-in-Residence; and founder/co-leader of the jazz-poetry ensemble UpSurge!NYC. You can Vote for his work at GoFundMe and PayPal.

Working Class
revolution
Capitalism

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


Related Stories

Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Operation Piracy or Pedophile Protection, mates?
21 January 2026
Pomade man moves. Demented Don moves. Gun moll, puppy-killingmoves. Reich Ministers move and groove ghoulishly to Vanilla Ice —
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Reclaiming our time back from February 30th Fighters
03 December 2025
I.Whisperings of stuffed envelopes; preachings of coldCash in attache cases; White Supreme Courtesans say 
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Day 40-something pedophile-protecting government shutdown
19 November 2025
Day 40-something of pedophile-Protecting-government shutdown —Snapshot of resistance revealed our unwillingness to 
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Tuesday night’s tiny glimpse of what The People really want
12 November 2025
“Universal suffrage is thus the gauge of the maturity of the working class.
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
The Bad Hombre Defense?
23 July 2025
What? You mean the client list vanished?      Disappeared? Disappeared from the AG’s desk like dropping egg prices?
Jon Jeter
From Cadillac-Driving Welfare Queens to Xbox-Playing Slackers, the Oligarchs Vilify Others for Their Own Larceny
09 July 2025
America’s ruling class keeps inventing new boogeymen to disguise its endless war on workers, while wealth flows upward and capitalism’s collaps
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
One Big Beautiful Bank Job!
28 May 2025
Masked. Armed to the teeth. Synchronized
Louisiana Workers Council
Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful’ Cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and More
28 May 2025
Following is a fact sheet about how Trump’s “big beautiful” budget bill cuts essential services and benefits for workers to give to the wealthy
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
DOGE— Department Of Grifter Enrichment
07 May 2025
“Empathy is the bane of western civilization.” 
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
March, March, March… (For Million Worker March and Brother Ray Quan)
30 April 2025
1. Dust dances on sunbeams streaming through busted eyes; Lunch bucket language no longer lingers

More Stories


  • Saturday's with Renee
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley , Renee Johnston , Jared Ball
    Birthright Citizenship and the African World
    19 Dec 2025
    Margaret Kimberley was recently a guest on the Black Liberation Media program, Saturdays with Renee, with Renee Johnston and Jared Ball. They discussed the issue of birthright citizenship in light of…
  • Sudan
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor , Ahmed Kaballo
    Struggling for Sovereignty: Sudan After Two Years of Civil War
    17 Dec 2025
    After two years of civil war, Sudan is now the site of the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. However, as in most conflicts in the Global South, colonial and neocolonial history are a large part…
  • Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    The Turtle Island Liberation Front Warning for Activists
    17 Dec 2025
    Arrests of members of the Turtle Island Liberation Front are the latest in a decades-long effort to criminalize the left and to make examples of anyone who might fit the profile of being a "…
  • Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    REVIEW: Radical Black Reading, 2025
    17 Dec 2025
    An end-of-the-year radical Black reading list from the editors of The Black Agenda Review.
  • Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    Army of Artists (For My Friend Horace Silver)
    17 Dec 2025
    "Army of Artists (For My Friend Horace Silver)" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us