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
Just like we glorified the black leather jackets, black berets, and guns in the 60s, we still romanticize African people with guns and mouths that fire more inaccurately than the guns they carry.
The martyred revolutionary’s assassination has finally been acknowledged by the Guyana state, and his works will become part of the educational curriculum.
To break cyclical, systemic oppression requires a functionality that rejects reified notions of governance, global capitalism, and accommodation.
Jazzman William Parker’s work is a bold art of resistance to capitalism, colonialism, racism, and the runaway train that is our present-day America.
Ruth Maclean’s article, like countless others in Western media, took place in an Africa without leaders, without public health officials or activists.
