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

My two new lil nieces: Session 1 Lesson 1
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
21 Sep 2022
🖨️ Print Article
My two new lil nieces: Session 1 Lesson 1

My two new lil nieces: Session 1 Lesson 1

“And you very small persons will not have to die

if you make yourselves heard! So come on, now,

and TRY!” — Dr. Seuss

Infant eyes fixed on big colorful pages—

Preschool sister’s holding her. Rocking her

World with reading—student’s ready! Uncle

sent Dr. Seuss—‘Uncle’ s Alphabet’ follows:

A’s for Anti-Black Arm, crooked, tatted, crushing windpipe

B’s for Blu Klux Klan/Baton/Blunt force/Broken bones…

C’s for Cracked skull; Cuffs too tight: Circulation cut off

D’s for Democracy—Don’t believe your lil lying eyes…

E’s for Extremist: ‘white’ supremacist views blasting you as NEWS…

F’s for Flashlight-busted—bloodied scalp—‘Fighting crime’

G’s for Glock—Gun-thug—‘Good shoot’ ’10-ring’/center mass

H’s for Hatred of Black and Brown skins like Yours/like Ours…

I’s for ICE cold-blooded killers hunting families trapped on borders

J’s for Justifiable Homicide/Juvenile Detention/January 6th…

K’s for Knee—on neck 9 min.—blu klux klansman extinguishing cigarette butt

L’s for Legal Lynching; Less Lethal: put eye out/disfigure face/damage brain…

M’s for Mace—in your

face—stay in your place, lovely little ladies!

N’s for Nigger—cops glaring at mirrors, mumbling to themselves—daily…

O’s for Obey—do as they say—whatever nonsense/whatever false pretense

in ‘self-defense’

P’s for Presto! Planted ‘evidence!’ ’Puttin cases on’ people disappearing ‘up the river’

Q’s for Questions cops ask over and over: “Where you going/coming from?????”

R’s for Routine traffic stop Tourettes—Routine potty-mouth ‘field interrogations’

S’s for “Stand down!” The command: Do not STOP murderous knees and arms at work!

T’s for Trauma/Toxic-masculinity—universal viral load—infecting fascists…

U’s for Useless in Uvalde—lovely children and their teachers needlessly died…

V’s for Violence: shopworn ‘service’/product peddled by policing pimps…

W’s for War on the poor; War on the working-class

X’s for X-rays exercising 1st Amendment rights: Assembling/Speaking out.

Y’s for Yearly/tally of blu klux killings normalized as ‘civilized’

Z’s for Zoos barbaric, bestial ‘corrections’ nazis keep for love of money…

© 2022. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

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.

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


More Stories


  • The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Has a New Corporate Megadonor
    Donald Shaw
    The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Has a New Corporate Megadonor
    09 Feb 2022
    Amazon donated $1.7 million to the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation last year as it faced allegations of illegal anti-union work.
  • Mexico Has Become a "Roofless Prison" for Haitian Refugees—With Biden's Help
    Chantal Flores
    Mexico Has Become a "Roofless Prison" for Haitian Refugees—With Biden's Help
    09 Feb 2022
    Thousands of migrants are trapped at the border as the United States and Mexico crack down on deportations—under Biden’s policies, many will be expelled.
  • The U.S. Black Political Class and War
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    The U.S. Black Political Class and War
    02 Feb 2022
    What passes for leadership is always a joke played upon Black people. The high water mark of the CBC being the “conscience of the congress” is long gone. No one can look to them on the issue of…
  • ​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist
    Crisis or Confusion? A Brief Guide for Black Folk on the Situation in Ukraine
    02 Feb 2022
    African people are already battling against U.S. rightist forces - from the Trump/Republican supporters to the warmongering neoliberal democrats. It would be an affront to our history and people to…
  • Danny Haiphong, BAR Contributing Editor
    Casual Racism and the New Cold War
    02 Feb 2022
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us