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

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.
Glen Ford and the Need for Black Radical Analysis
Pascal Robert
Glen Ford and the Need for Black Radical Analysis
04 August 2021
Black radical analysis was the foundation of Glen Ford's work.

More Stories


  • Solidarity with Cuba
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Solidarity with Cuba
    12 May 2023
    Netfa Freeman just returned from Cuba, where he was one of the coordinators of the National Network on Cuba's delegation to the U.S. May Day Brigade.
  • 1970 Jackson State Shootings
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    1970 Jackson State Shootings
    12 May 2023
    C. Liegh McInnis is a poet, short story writer, and former instructor at Jackson State University.
  • The Murder of Jordan Neely Abetted by Eric Adams, Worst Black Mayor in the Country
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    The Murder of Jordan Neely Abetted by Eric Adams, Worst Black Mayor in the Country
    10 May 2023
    New York City's mayor isn't just a self-interested member of the Black political class. He is also singularly incompetent and lacking in the most basic political skills. After a Black man was…
  • ESSAY: British Imperialism in the West Indies, George Padmore, 1938
    Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    ESSAY: British Imperialism in the West Indies, George Padmore, 1938
    10 May 2023
    In 1938, Pan-Africanist George Padmore called for the West Indian toiling masses to fight against British imperialism and for self-determination. Almost a century later, the Caribbean still suffers,…
  • Ilhan Omar Voted to Withdraw from Somalia, but She’s No Anti-Imperialist
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Ilhan Omar Voted to Withdraw from Somalia, but She’s No Anti-Imperialist
    10 May 2023
    Congresswoman Ilhan Omar is not the progressive she is thought to be. She follows US policy regarding her native Somalia and she has connections there which compromise her actions. True anti-…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us