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

The Peoples’ Pips: Leaving on that Midnight Train to GA…
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
18 Aug 2021
🖨️ Print Article
The Peoples’ Pips: Leaving on that Midnight Train to GA…
The Peoples’ Pips: Leaving on that Midnight Train to GA…

BAR's poet in residence composes a lyrical and musical tribute to Glen Ford.

…He’s leaving 

(Leaving)

On that Midnight Train To Georgia 

(Leaving on the Midnight Train)

 

Earned a one way ticket back to soil

he blossomed beautifully from—lightly

bound, tightly wound contradictions:

Fair fella, yellowish ‘good hair’ hue/Blue-

black-black to the 37th power woke-ness;

Black-black, double black/Fire engine red 

internationalist aura and practice;

Smallish cat/Big, burnished baritone sound;

Panther prowl/Wehrmacht story pains presaging

plain pen to ordinary yellow legal-size pad—

Launching laser-surgical speeches and pieces…

His work/Their work/Our work/ All aboard

(on the Midnight Train…)

 

…He’s leaving 

(Leaving)

On that Midnight Train To Georgia 

(Leaving on the Midnight Train)

 

Traveling twisting tracks, traveling

long winding roads—blessed Odyssey—

esteemed elder to revered

Ancestor…

And Ancestors, we all know, are always 

waiting in the wings. Always just that

“Who?” “What?” “Why?” “Where?” “When?” 

question away…soothing our inflamed hearts—

Our deep fried minds… 

 

What would he/she say? When would they tell

heroes in embryo—The People—unvarnished 

Truth?

His work/Their work/Our work/ All aboard

(on the Midnight Train…)

 

© 2021. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

Raymond Nat Turner is an accomplished poet and performing artist, and an official of the National Writers Union. Find more of his work at http://upsurgejazz.com.

Glen Ford

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


Related Stories

Editors, The Black Agenda Review
ESSAY: Black Organizations and White Money, Glen Ford, 1975
04 November 2026
“It is clear that the availability of white money caused Black organizations to restructure themselves into fund-raising agencies.”
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
Twenty Years of Black Agenda Report
28 October 2026
Reaching a 20th anniversary for Black Agenda Report is indeed a milestone.
A Tribute to Glen Ford
The Editors
A Tribute to Glen Ford
02 August 2023
"What would Glen Ford say?" That question is one which we often ask ourselves two years after his passing. Glen was extremely prescient,
Glen Ford's Irreplaceable Journalism
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
Glen Ford's Irreplaceable Journalism
27 July 2022
I was very proud to write the preface to Glen Ford's book, The Black
Introduction to Glen Ford's "The Black Agenda"
Glen Ford , BAR executive editor
Introduction to Glen Ford's "The Black Agenda"
27 July 2022
The compilation of Glen Ford's work, "The Black Agenda" was publ
GLEN FORD: Black Lives Matter Founder Launches Huge Project to Shrink Black Lives, 2019
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
GLEN FORD: Black Lives Matter Founder Launches Huge Project to Shrink Black Lives, 2019
13 April 2022
Glen Ford reminded us that Black liberation cannot be found over a cheese plate and mimosas in a $6 million southern California mansion.
Legacy of a Black Revolutionary:  Black Agenda Report (BAR)
Mary Uyematsu Kao
Legacy of a Black Revolutionary: Black Agenda Report (BAR)
26 January 2022
Glen Ford's legacy is recognized all over the nation. Japanese- American newspaper Rafu Shimpo printed this tribute to his work. 
Glen Ford's Journalism Fought for Black Liberation and Against Imperialism
Margaret Kimberley, BAR senior columnist
Glen Ford's Journalism Fought for Black Liberation and Against Imperialism
04 August 2021
Ford was among the few journalists who took a stance for Black liberation and against imperialism.
Nia Ford
Power to the people!
04 August 2021
Glen Ford’s daughter explains his lifelong commitment to Black people.
Mark P. Fancher
Were Glen Ford and T. Thomas Fortune the Same Brother?
04 August 2021
Glen Ford followed in the footsteps of another legendary Black journalist.

More Stories


  • Freedom Rider: The Russians are Coming, for Kamala Harris
    Margaret Kimberley , BAR editor and senior columnist
    Freedom Rider: The Russians are Coming, for Kamala Harris
    24 Jul 2019
    The lightweight senator hopes voters will let her party off the hook for its failures if the word Russia is repeated often enough.
  • Kamala Harris Embodies the Most Dangerous Myth of American Exceptionalism 
    Danny Haiphong , BAR contributor
    Kamala Harris Embodies the Most Dangerous Myth of American Exceptionalism 
    24 Jul 2019
    Harris loves apartheid Israel and throwing Black people in prison, which makes her a perfect Black corporate Democrat.
  • "Election Meddling Command Posts" from CNN to Yahoo News and the DNC
    Ann Garrison , BAR contributor
    "Election Meddling Command Posts" from CNN to Yahoo News and the DNC
    24 Jul 2019
    In their hysteria to scapegoat Russia and Julian Assange for all that’s wrong with the US, the corporate press and politicos have made themselves look ridiculous.
  • We’ve Been Here Before: Learning From the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
    Paul McLennan
    We’ve Been Here Before: Learning From the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
    24 Jul 2019
    We need to stick to a radical, principled, intersectional, anti-imperialist political orientation that trusts in the power of the people to make history.
  • Kamala Harris Claims Russia, Not US Racism, Behind Kaepernick Furor
    Alan MacLeod
    Kamala Harris Claims Russia, Not US Racism, Behind Kaepernick Furor
    24 Jul 2019
    The former career prosecutor sees Russians everywhere, but can’t recognize white supremacy.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us