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 The State Machine’s Machinegun-Totin’ Cops… 
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
20 Aug 2014
🖨️ Print Article

by BAR poet-in-residence Raymond Nat Turner

Dey got Glocks, pumps, tasirs, peppurspray, vess—
White magik fo’ conjurin’ cases ob “resisin’ aress!”

My Wise Country Cousin on The State Machine’s Machinegun-Totin’ Cops… 

by BAR poet-in-residence Raymond Nat Turner

Look lak de Daltuns, Youngas an ol’ James gangs
Is resirrecit, an’ up ridin’ again, doin’ dey thangs—
Bowdin’ de D train wit machinegun-totin’ police
Dey needin’ dat firepower fo’ “keepin’ de peace?”
‘Less Al Kater on de A, Boocoo Harome on de B
Dem damn machineguns make no sense, to me…
‘Less Eyesool on de C, an’ Eyesis down on de D
Dem damn machineguns make no sense, to me…
Dey got Glocks, pumps, tasirs, peppurspray, vess—
White magik fo’ conjurin’ cases ob “resisin’ aress!”

Dey shoutin’ night an’ day‘bout Eyesool and Eyesis
Coverin’ up de fac dey sistum’s tremblin’ wit crisis:
Workin’ folk tired ob takeaways an’ myzerly charity
Caint take much mo’ ob dese heists called awesterity—
Son, I tolt you once, tolt you twice, dis makes thrice
Dis a police state Negroz an’ liberuls call ‘paradice!’

Dey got C-Is, Demografick Units an Mosk Crawlers,
Ebben mens among trash hallers, an’ cable installers…
Now, it lookin’ lak to me dat Bloody Billy Bratton
Is bringin’ dat ol’ SS mess up here in Manhattun…
Sho lookin’ lak what de youngtaz be callin’ po-po
Is jes de Furor’s ol’ gang ob thugs de Gustop-po—
Well, so much fo’ hare-splittin,’ ackademik debate,
It pas’ time fo’ callin’ dis muthafucka a police state!

Raymond Nat Turner can be contacted at Raymond (at) upsurgejazz.com
Raymond Nat Turner © 2105 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


  • Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    INTERVIEW: “I was deported because I fought colour bar” Claudia Jones, 1956
    08 Jul 2026
    “I was deported from the U.S.A, because as a Negro woman Communist of West Indian descent, I was a thorn in their side…”
  • Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    The Kagame Regime Must Not Be Allowed to Seize the Archives of the ICTR
    08 Jul 2026
    The records of the International Criminal Tribunal on Rwanda should not be surrendered to the Rwandan regime led by President Paul Kagame.
  • Navid Zarrinnal
    The Iranian Revolution and African Solidarity
    08 Jul 2026
    Iran's 1979 revolution was a victory for national sovereignty which also forged solidarity with African people.
  • Hanna Eid
    Sovereignty and Strategic Depth
    08 Jul 2026
    The U.S. and Israel treat negotiations as a weapon to destabilize and disarm the region, but Iran and Hezbollah have shown that real sovereignty requires connecting every front in a unified anti-…
  • Abayomi Azikiwe
    Detroit People’s Tribunal Takes Mask off ICE
    08 Jul 2026
    Activists gathered from various areas of Michigan to report on the excesses and brutality of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and local police, which…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us