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

A Li'l Somethin' for Dick Gregory
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
31 Aug 2017
🖨️ Print Article
A Li'l Somethin' for Dick Gregory
A Li'l Somethin' for Dick Gregory

A Li'l Somethin' for Dick Gregory

by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner

Our white-bearded cannon
fell silent—
The day became grayer…
I know, I know, I know, I know…
He was my Mom’s favorite funnyman—
She bought his books, his vinyl
Speaking to her like Malcolm
(who she shared Turkish Coffee
with on his trips west, fishing for men)

I remember his mantra
He chanted like a Buddhist Priest:
“You youngsters got a lotta work to do…”
“You youngsters got a lotta work to do…”
Doubling us over,
splitting our sides, shaking our cores…

I remember his mantra
He chanted like a Buddhist Priest:
“You youngsters got a lotta work to do…”
“You youngsters got a lotta work to do…”
Piercing steel veils with X-ray vision
puncturing absurdities with barbed tongue—
Soul-ar powered bullshit detector
administering smell tests

I remember his mantra
He chanted like a Buddhist Priest:
“You youngsters got a lotta work to do…”
“You youngsters got a lotta work to do…”
while coming as close as we’ve come to
Having a Super Hero
putting his body
On the line running,
Marching, fasting, speaking,
Teaching us to follow
the money where the
bodies are buried…

Raymond Nat Turner © 2017 All Right Reserved

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


More Stories


  • Is Systemic Racism a True Indicator of Cowardice?
    Dr. Kweli Nzito
    Is Systemic Racism a True Indicator of Cowardice?
    24 Mar 2021
    The craven fear of truth in imperial zones, bordering on psychopathic dread, has sustained systemic racism and hegemonic power domestically and globally.
  • Sudan: the Second Wave of Revolt
    Sara Abbas
    Sudan: the Second Wave of Revolt
    24 Mar 2021
    The not-yet-triumphant Sudan popular uprising was both sophisticated and thorough; it tried to learn from past mistakes and internalize lessons from revolutions of the first wave and elsewhere.
  • Cuba’s Contributions in the Fight Against the COVID-19 Pandemic
    Franklin Frederick
    Cuba’s Contributions in the Fight Against the COVID-19 Pandemic
    24 Mar 2021
    The Cuban Revolution has shown that when limited resources are distributed equitably and with an emphasis on people and prevention, public health outcomes previously unimaginable can be achieved.
  • That New Old Spook Show 
    Dr. David Pleasant 
    That New Old Spook Show 
    24 Mar 2021
    Savannah is is trying to create a renaissance of profit with live bodies portraying Gullah Geechee, enslaved Africans or immigrant indentures plodding through a mod-gothic spook show.
  • Bruce Levine’s “Thaddeus Stevens: Civil War Revolutionary, Fighter for Racial Justice“ 
    Reviewed by Michael Steven Smith
    Bruce Levine’s “Thaddeus Stevens: Civil War Revolutionary, Fighter for Racial Justice“ 
    24 Mar 2021
    Rep Thaddeus Stevens was an unyielding proponent of the nationalization of the large southern plantations and the redistribution of that land to Black people. 
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us