by BAR poet in residence Nathaniel Turner
No fries for Ferguson, no burgers
For Baltimore—have it your way…
Baltimore Fries
by BAR poet in residence Nathaniel Turner
Had they just stood down, and forgot Mike Brown—
Ignored Freddie Gray and just civilly strolled away
Eschewing genocidal violence that crosses the line—
At least cut carnage of their thuggish protests’ to 9
Heading home awaiting the arresting officers’ knock
With no flash-bangs, no A-Rs— just holstered Glock
Peacefully entering black homes and arresting them,
Reading them their rights, bulletproof-vesting them
Under color of law and done fitting and done proper—
Then they, too, just might have dined on Whopper!
No corporate, confederate-FOX, psy-war lore,
No heroic blonde man-of-war, would-be-Boer,
No compassion, camaraderie, or esprit de corps—
No fries for Ferguson, no burgers for Baltimore!
It’s because rebellious Black youth acted like thugs
Wearing the wrong patches and wrong colored mugs
Why, the Commander even said so—make no mistake,
No Mickey D, no Burger King and no fries, no shake,
No Popeye, no Colonel Sanders, no Wendy’s, no Jack
For Black working-class kids out there fighting back!
No corporate, confederate-FOX, psy-war lore,
No heroic blonde man-of-war, would-be-Boer,
No compassion, camaraderie or esprit de corps—
No fries for Ferguson, no burgers for Baltimore!
Understand why the copper
Felt it fitting and proper
Treating a B K Whopper To the pop-pop-popper?
Raymond Nat Turner © 2015 All Rights Reserved
The idea of a world war should not be relegated to science fiction. Western escalations in Ukraine could lead to conflict with a nuclear power.
Read against the terrible incineration of Rafah today, this poem of resistance and refusal, by Palestinian poet Samih al-Qasim, is as powerful now as it was fifty years ago.
I spoke to William Sakawa, a producer and reporter with the Nairobi-based media outlet African Stream, about Kenyan President William Ruto’s agreement to invade Haiti for the US.
"Hearing! Hearing! Hearing!" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence.
This week’s featured authors are Jeanelle K. Hope and Bill V. Mullen. Their book is The Black Antifascist Tradition: Fighting Back From Anti-Lynching to Abolition.
