Kristallnacht came casting lead ballots,
overthrowing Black elected officials and
Massacring those that VOTED for them—
Wilmington, North Carolina, 1898;
Kristallnacht came shooting, looting and burning;
Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1921; Rosewood, Florida, 1923;
Muslim Mosque # 27, L.A., 1962; came with scorched
earth for schoolchildren’s food from the Black Panther
Party Free Breakfast Program; for Fred Hampton’s home…
Kristallnacht came this time by bus, by train, by plane,
by car—storming Capitalist Hill with guns, knives, tasers,
mace, bear spray, retractable batons, brass knuckles and
Badges. Did it come fighting Slow-pitch-Mitch-Two-buck-
Chuck-Chancy-Nancy over mile-long food lines?
Over bellies beginning to bloat and sound like zoos?
Over tiny voices whining, “Daddy, I’m hungry”?
Kristallnacht came a thousand Sheriff Joes, Jim Clarks,
Bull Connors—bent badges, macabre tattoos celebrating
extrajudicial executions; a thousand ‘roid raging wild
Boers snorting thin blue lines of Third Reich ideology;
Kristallnacht came disguised as Mr. Magoo mistaking flagpoles and
Fire extinguishers for batons; tables for battering rams; Like cell-
phones morphing into guns in Black hands—and backs into bullseyes…
Kristallnacht came with confederate battle flags; came greeting
Blue uniformed Black capitol cops as ‘Officer Nigger—‘ tail-gating
Lynch mob, Georgia on its mind—Dead set on disenfranchising
Detroit’s 13th; New York’s 14th; Minneapolis’s 5th; Boston’s 7th;
St. Louis’1st; L.A.’s 37th/43rd; Oakland’s 13th; and declaring that
Bourgeois democracy’s officially over…
Kristallnacht came flying Delta and American Airlines over stage-
coach and buckboard—came plotting with congress members by
Internet, rather than telegraph; Kristallnacht came vaccinated
against the 21st Century—and engaged in hand-to-hand combat
with second/minute/hour hands to overthrow motion, change,
And development resembling
streets of rainbow rebellion ‘cross the country; ‘round the world…
Kristallnacht came—though low Barr left town—and Grecian
Formula 9/11 failed in Philly…
Kristallnacht came in “Trial by Combat” Count Ghouliani—
living on 9/11 blood—
The Count cut his fangs on drunken NYPD officers rioting and
urinating on Dinkins’ leadership. The Count knew reduction in
force; horses; cordoned off perimeters; protest pens; L-Rad; kettling…
Kristallnacht came whistling dixie, “Supporting The Troops—”
Came questioning “The War On Terror;” refuting “Defund the
police—”
For who else can shatter glass, skulls and illusions like that…?
Who?
© 2020. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.
Kill Just For A Thrill…last days of Pompeo…
Just for a thrill
they brought families more pain—
More white supremacist reign…
Just for a thrill
they made peoples’ lives one sad song
So a bunker boss might look ‘strong…’
Just for a thrill
they’ve made men’s hearts stand still—
Paper matches snuffed at will…
Just for a thrill
he’d lynch 5 innocent boys—
Crush them like Cracker Jack toys…
Just for a thrill
they have looped Emmett Till—
Black bodies/lame duck landfill…
Just for a thrill
they kill, kill and kill and kill—
Their swamp drains to a dunghill…
Just for a thrill
they kill with impunity—
Bloody herd immunity…
Just for a thrill
spreading lethal infection—
Joyriding lethal injection…
Just for a thrill
lowlife thugs killing for sport—
Earning dates at the World Court…
though they’re free to kill for fun—
The Peoples’ Will will be done…
© 2020. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.
*Poet’s note: Inspired by the great Ray Charles’ version of the great Lil Hardin’s “Just For A Thrill.”
COMMENTS?
Please join the conversation on Black Agenda Report's Facebook page at http://facebook.com/blackagendareport
Or, you can comment by emailing us at [email protected]
In this week’s segment, we discuss navigating celebrity culture and liberation politics. Also, organizers will convene in Philadelphia to mobilize on behalf of Mumia Abu Jamal. But first, a recent…
On Inauguration Day, Donald Trump issued an Executive Order that stated that the federal government would require proof of parental citizenship or permanent residency to grant birthright citizenship…
We are joined by Kalonji Changa, who is a co-founder of Black Power Media, founder of the FTP Movement, and co-author of the book Beyond Cop Cities: Dismantling State and Corporate-Funded Armies and…
Gil Obler is an organizer with the Free Mumia Abu Jamal Coalition of New York City. He joins us from New York to discuss the Saturday, July 5th rally and march at Malcolm X memorial park in…
Black citizenship was non-existent for the first 200 years that enslaved and free people were present in what became the United States. Even long-standing legal victories are tenuous, and now…
