by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner
With Chicagoans in the street almost every day meeting, marching, teaching-in and demanding the resignation of mayor Rahm Emanuel, the poet checks in with his wise country cousin.
Rahmbo Must Go, says My Wise Country Cousin
by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner
Now, you take me, I ain’t got but a sekun grade edjakayshun
But, son, I kin smell a got-damn crook… wit no hezatashun
Yes, suh, took one look an’ knew de boy was rottin to de bone
Hi-tek, modurn, vershun ob Big Jim, Toreeo, an’ Al Capone—
Lawd, Rahmbo wurs den Mayor Daylee, Nitty, an’ Bugs Moran
Overseein’ poleecemen dat’s de paid arm ob de Ku Klux Klan!
I truss Rahmbo… ‘bout lak I truss a bank robbur up in de safe—
Wus’n dat ol’ boy once de, uh, Commanduh’s Cheef ob Strafe?
Well, no wunda wen it come to killin’ Rahmbo no stranger—
‘Cause ob his trainin’ as Cheef ob Strafe fo’ de Drone Ranger!
He, de Ranger, an’ dat ol’Dunkin boy ain’t nuthin’ but crooks
Dey lak Jake ‘Greezy Thum’ Goosik, way dey cook de books:
Dem boys as crookit as Madeoff, mark’d cards, an’ lowdid dice
Bizee linin’ dey pockits lak Deeon O’Banyun an’ Himee Wise!
Son, bak in de day, luv me sum Woff, Ice Man, an’ Loopin’ Lou—
But, I care less den a rat’s ass fo’ de Ranger, an’ Rahmbo crew!
Dem boys is gran’ mastas wen it cum to playin’ Negroz fo’ fools
Karpit-baggers makin’ a killin’ closin’ up ober 50 ob de skools!
I dun tolt Negroz ober an’ ober: de Dems nuthin’ but 1% tools—
Criminuls dats makin’ de rules all wile dey’s breakin’ de rules…
But, kidz make ‘em thro’ de poleez cheef unda Greyhoun’ weels—
Rahmbo betta step his ass down wile dey’s still up fo’ makin’ deals
Son, I guess de lawd sho’ nuff do wuk in ways dat’s: strange—
Lak me in de streets wit de kids to axe fo'— “Regeem Change…”
Raymond Nat Turner © 2015 All Rights Reserved
I dun tolt Negroz ober an’ ober: de Dems nuthin’ but 1% tools—
Criminuls dats makin’ de rules all wile dey’s breakin’ de rules…
But, kidz make ‘em thro’ de poleez cheef unda Greyhoun’ weels—
Rahmbo betta step his ass down wile dey’s still up fo’ makin’ deals
Son, I guess de lawd sho’ nuff do wuk in ways dat’s: strange—
Lak me in de streets wit de kids to axe fo'— “Regeem Change…”
Raymond Nat Turner © 2015 All Rights Reserved
For the past 30 years, no matter which party has been in power, the US economy has produced more and more “bad” jobs – because the Race to the Bottom is ruling class policy.
It is true now just as when Glen Ford wrote these words in 2019. In any alliance with corporate oppression and militarism, Black America squanders reservoirs of respect among the Earth’s peoples.…
The U.S. has used its influence to steal another country’s oil revenues. Venezuela is in the crosshairs because it dares to be socialist in the hemisphere the U.S. claims as it’s “backyard.”
The late Glen Ford would probably refer to events in Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, and elsewhere as the “blowback” from France’s colonial past.
“The structural crisis of capitalism in its neoliberal form has created a legitimacy crisis for the capitalist rulers, making the use of force a permanent strategy for maintaining their dominance.”
