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

“No Matter What Sign You Are,”4th Supreme
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
16 Jan 2019
🖨️ Print Article
the supremes
The Supremes

Mary was mysterious,
but the best dancer
Diana, the magnetic,
cooing romancer—
But, here’s a secret I know:
cats like me dug Miss Flo—
And the 4th Supreme’s ‘fro!

The 4th Supreme came
Singing tones ‘tween
Douglass and Carmen McRae—
Malcolm X and Lady Day

The 4th Supreme came
Singing “Stop In The Name Of Love!”
by way of Brandeis/Bombing-ham—
hitting Dynamite Hill high notes

The 4th Supreme came
Singing “Reflections”
in silver bracelets, on a
Newsweek cover captioned:
“Red, Black and Wanted!”

Hoover hated her harmonies with millions…
But I heard, “Set me free, why don’t you, babe?”
Rocking me to “ …Try Something New:”
Dialectics…

 

The 4th Supreme came
Singing, “I Hear A Symphony—”
“No Matter What Sign You Are,”
in ’08—but I
forgive her and comrades
and friends for singing flat
Madison Avenue smash hits: “Yes,
we can and bottle Jim Jones Juice;”
“regime Change you can believe in—”
delivering “Nothing But Heartaches” to
Honduras, Libya, Syria, Mother Africa…

© 2018. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.
Raymond Nat Turner, our poet in residence, is an accomplished performing artist. You can find much more of his work at http://upsurgejazz.com.

poetry

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


More Stories


  • Terence Keel
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    The Coroner's Silence: Death Records and the Hidden Victims of Police Violence
    20 Feb 2026
    In his book, "The Coroner’s Silence: Death Records and the Hidden Victims of Police Violence," Dr. Terence Keel investigates how coroners and medical examiners omit key information about police…
  • Lebron James
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Nothing But Great Things: LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Israel
    20 Feb 2026
    Margaret Kimberley was recently a guest on the Revolutionary Change podcast with co-hosts Jen Perelman and Peter Hager. In these excerpts of their conversation, they discussed the intersection…
  • Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Marco Rubio Reveals the White Supremacy at the Heart of Western Foreign Policy
    18 Feb 2026
    Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in public what is usually unspoken but accepted around the world. Western foreign policy is controlled by the doctrine of white supremacy. 
  • Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    ESSAY: Resurrection City: The Dream…The Accomplishments, Jesse Jackson, 1968
    18 Feb 2026
    “The Poor People’s Campaign is the greatest single challenge ever unleashed upon our colonial system.”
  • Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist , ​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist
    Ajamu Baraka Remembers Rev. Jesse Jackson
    18 Feb 2026
    What is Jesse Jackson’s legacy? Ajamu Baraka, Black Agenda Report editor and columnist, provides his reflections.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us