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

My Wise Country Cousin on Ferguson
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
10 Sep 2014
🖨️ Print Article

by BAR poet-in-residence Raymond Nat Turner

Ahm prowd ob Fightin’ Furgasun’s po, wurkin peeples, heroic youf Dey de wonz we can count on wen we’s fightin fo’ Justus, an’ Troof—

My Wise Country Cousin on Ferguson

by BAR poet-in-residence Raymond Nat Turner

Furgasun feel lak fresh air— a grate big festabul ob de masses
Now, de way folk unerstan it, depen on how dey see classes…
It’s lak de bus boycotts an freedum riots fo’ po’ folk lak me
But, de beginnin’ ob de en fo’ de blak booze-wah-zee…

 

Furgasun a revelooshunary skool teachin’ who/ how, ta fight:
Enamees ‘lef’, enamees rite, an’ enamees blak, enamees white—
Wen it pass a week, massas say, “Whoa, dis tang gittin’ messy!”
“We’s gon’ haf ta sen de Sharlaton boy, or at leese sen Jesse!”
But, ‘ol’ skool’ not enuf, dey mix ‘new skool’ in Massas’ Plan
Lak de ol’ witch: “a lil’ poison”——Blow, Lemon, an’ Van!
“Our niggas fly lak de witch’s monkees, roun’ de kid’s caskit
Speak disdane fo’ Fightin’ Furgasun: ‘millitunnz’ ta mask it!”

Me, ahm prowd ob Fightin’ Furgasun— speshally de heroic youf
Dey de onlee wonz ta count on fightin’ fo justus, ta tell de troof—
Dem fancy, remoat-cuntroled, Negroz ‘bout de bucks, an’libbin’ hi
“Follow de Eksampul ob Fightin’ Furgasun!” is our battulcry…

Raymond Nat Turner can be contacted at Raymond (at) upsurgejazz.com

Raymond Nat Turner © 2014 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


  • Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    Did you see an infantile, juvenile flight of fancy?
    22 Oct 2025
    "Did you see an infantile, juvenile flight of fancy?" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence.
  • Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright
    Stuck in a Neutral Gear of Watered Down and Whitewashed Prefigurative Politics: How “No Kings” Takes the “Move” Out of Movements
    22 Oct 2025
    You cannot defeat a king with a parade. The failure of "No Kings" is the refusal to build real power beyond a single day of protest.
  • Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Firoze Manji’s, “Claim No Easy Victories: The Legacy of Amilcar Cabral”
    22 Oct 2025
    In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book. This week’s featured author is Firoze Manji. Manji, a Kenyan with more than 40 years’ experience in…
  • Tunde Osazua
    The “Christian Genocide” in Nigeria: An Unmasking of a Neo-Colonial Weapon
    22 Oct 2025
    A false narrative of "Christian genocide" is being weaponized against Nigeria, which is itself victimized by western neo-colonial policies.
  • Imani Nile
    Every Winter, the Bronx Burns
    22 Oct 2025
    The cause of the explosion at Mitchel Houses in the South Bronx harkens back to the arson-for-profit schemes of the 1970s that caused mass destruction of Black and Latine communities. Decades later,…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us