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

Lakers/Warriors; And Knicks/Heat
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
17 May 2023
🖨️ Print Article
 Lakers/Warriors; And Knicks/Heat
1987 Lakers (Photo: Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images)

                                                                                   Lakers/Warriors; And Knicks/Heat

 

It’s fun falling into fantasy lands. Fun watching sweaty,

dripping wet, teamwork of nephew-grandson men! Brisk

Passing/sharing! Rebounding missed shots! Chasing down

loose balls…

It’s fun escaping School Shooting of The Day—and

War of the Week!

Fun forgetting Pentagon Parties, Pinocchio politicians

and their elephant excrement-donkey dung $campaigns

It’s fun purchasing ‘personal’ pizzas, local pizza place,

and metaphor-watching with working-class ‘strangers!’

Fun following brown round ball whizzing crosscourt;

‘round keys; secretly daydreaming the politically ‘impossible’

It’s fun removing my mind from War House! From W-Drone

Ranger-Boss Tweet-Ol’ Schmo biz. Off sleazy senators, corrupt

congressmen infesting Capitalist Hill. It’s fun forgetting grand

dragon governors and 4th quarter comebacks by confederates

It’s fun watching furious fast breaks of great Jazz quintets—

playing “I can’t breathe!” bent backs; hands on knees—

Substitutions and timeouts… It’s fun when “Hands up, don’t

Shoot!” is ‘bout blocking shots—Not autopsies, flowers, funerals.

Raymond Nat Turner is a NYC poet; BAR's Poet-in-Residence; and founder/co-leader of the jazz-poetry ensemble UpSurge!NYC. You can Vote for his work at: GoFundMe and PayPal.

sports
Black Sports; Politics

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


Related Stories

Wolfgang Bronner
Entertainment as Militarization: The Spectacle of the Super Bowl & WrestleMania in Nashville
06 May 2026
The spectacle of major sporting events does not simply distract from a city's crackdown on the working class.
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
EDITORIAL: After the Olympics: Buying off Protest, Harry Edwards, 1969
16 July 2025
“Racists don’t give up easily, we learned, and the racists in sports are especially dedicated.”
Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
BAR Book Forum: Nathan Kalman-Lamb and Derek Silva’s Book, “The End of College Football”
06 November 2024
In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book.
OJ Simpson at his trial
Gus Griffin
O.J. Simpson and Understanding the Black Support He Never Deserved
17 April 2024
O.J.
Colin Kaepernick
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
The Karma of Kap or curse of capitalism??
21 February 2024
The Karma of Kap or curse of capitalism??
Yes! An NFL Player Can Be Exploited
Gus Griffin
Yes! An NFL Player Can Be Exploited
23 August 2023
Michael Oher’s story of exploitation is even worse than the white savior narrative presented by Hollywood.
The Super Bowl and the Trouble with First Black Symbolism
Gus Griffin
The Super Bowl and the Trouble with First Black Symbolism
08 February 2023
Whether Super Bowl quarterbacks, or presidents, or police chiefs, unquestioned admiration of the "first Black" should come to an end.
BAR Book Forum “Sports and Black Struggle”: Interview with Dewitt King
Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
BAR Book Forum “Sports and Black Struggle”: Interview with Dewitt King
21 September 2022
In this feature, we interview organizers, journalists, scholars, and athletes working at the intersection of sports and Black struggle. 
BAR Book Forum “Sports and Black Struggle”: Interview with Courtney M. Cox
Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
BAR Book Forum “Sports and Black Struggle”: Interview with Courtney M. Cox
13 July 2022
In this feature, we interview organizers, journalists, scholars, and athletes working at the intersection of sports and Black struggle.
BAR Book Forum “Sports and Black Struggle”: Interview with Samantha N. Sheppard
Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
BAR Book Forum “Sports and Black Struggle”: Interview with Samantha N. Sheppard
30 March 2022
This week, we interview Samantha N. Sheppard. Samantha N.

More Stories


  • Ride or Die: Rachel Corrie's Body and the Bitter Legacy of White Allies
    Jon Jeter
    Ride or Die: Rachel Corrie's Body and the Bitter Legacy of White Allies
    22 Mar 2023
    Being a white ally is a very serious matter. They can be "martyred on a shrine of white supremacy in an effort to discourage other whites from following their lead."
  • U.S. Imposes Economic Sanctions on Black Community Projects
    The Burning Spear
    U.S. Imposes Economic Sanctions on Black Community Projects
    22 Mar 2023
    The FBI raid on the Uhuru Movement has resulted in economic sanctions like those imposed on countries that dare to be sovereign despite being under U.S. attack.
  • Black Agenda Radio March 17, 2023
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio March 17, 2023
    17 Mar 2023
    This week we will hear about efforts to mobilize New York progressives in support of the Green Party and how a proposal for new questions on ethnicity and race would improve accuracy and fairness in…
  • Stop Cop City
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Stop Cop City
    17 Mar 2023
    Tunde Osazua joins us from Atlanta to talk about the Stop Cop City movement and why it matters to the entire country.
  • The Left in New York Join the Green Transformation
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    The Left in New York Join the Green Transformation
    17 Mar 2023
    We discuss the March 25th meeting, Join the Green Transformation, a Green Party of New York County effort to mobilize left voters.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us