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

Birmingham On The Hudson
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
28 Aug 2012
🖨️ Print Article

 

by Raymond Nat Turner

“Another generation of Gordon Gekkos

Parasitic, psycho, thug CEOs

Funny money men, where anything goes

Republi-crats and Demo-con echoes”

 

Birmingham On The Hudson

by Raymond Nat Turner

Jazz Ballad Chorus

Headed for CUNY with dreams and hope

'Til gettin' swept up in Rope-and-Grope

Tuggin' down his testes on the street

Body-slammed, cursed and browbeat 

Meeting N-Y's finest's fists and feets

Given blurred vision of hoods and sheets

Bruised, bloodied victim of violent scam--

The Hudson banks on Birmingham

The Hudson banks on Birmingham.... 

Hip Hop Feel

Bull Kelly cut fire hoses and cattle prods

For Glockmiesters runnin' in death squads

Protecting and serving corporate masters

The privilege and supremacy of alabasters 

Guarding Merrill-Lynch and Killer Coke

Fighting crime's mirrors and smoke

Drivin' out the poor from dusk to dark

Like smashing Spring in Zucotti Park

 

After the Schultzes seized Native Land

Manhattan real estate rose in demand

They cashed the stolen land into rent

Maintained violently by the 1%

 

In this Age Of Metastasized Cash-ism

Wall Street's Kleptocratic Stash-ism

Mayor Bilbo's businesses blooming brisk

His real estate-driven Stop-and-Frisk

American-styled apartheid pass law

Bilbo's Gestapo's a blue cat's-paw

 

After the Schultzes seized Native Land

Manhattan real estate rose in demand

They cashed the stolen land into rent

Maintained violently by the 1%

 

Another generation of Gordon Gekkos

Parasitic, psycho, thug CEOs

Funny money men, where anything goes

Republi-crats and Demo-con echoes

Putting our lives and health at risk

Run these cons through Stop-and-Frisk

Provocateurs and pundits in cahoots

Will look hip in orange jumpsuits!

Raymond Nat Turner can be contacted at Raymond (at) upsurgejazz.com.

Raymond Nat Turner (c) 2012 All Rights 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


  • Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    SERMON: The “Pet Negro” System, Zora Neale Hurston, 1943
    19 Jun 2024
    Zora Neale Hurston’s sermon on the “Pet Negro” system provides devastating and timely insight into the psychology of Black folk working in the service of white power. Preach, Sister Zora!
  • Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    The Case for Palestine
    19 Jun 2024
    Dan Kovalik’s new book makes a case for Palestine.
  • Jacqueline Luqman
    Defeat The Fascist War On African People In The US And Abroad!
    19 Jun 2024
    The struggle to defeat the war on African people can be understood through an analysis of the ongoing relationship between African people and the state.
  • Communist Party of Kenya
    Unmasking Ruto’s Betrayal and Mobilizing for Kenya’s Sovereignty and Justice
    19 Jun 2024
    Kenyan President William Ruto, despite his posturing as a strong leader for the people, has betrayed the masses time and time again. His neoliberal policies and allegiance to the imerperialist west…
  • Janvieve Williams Comrie , Mauri Balanta Jaramillo
    The Intersection of Vulnerability and Power: The Case of Francia Márquez
    19 Jun 2024
    Francia Marquez's rise to Colombia's vice presidency has put a target on her back, but she also brings with her hope for a real change in Colombian politics. As in the U.S., Black political…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us