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
  • omnibus

For Fancy Miss Nancy
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
19 Dec 2018
Nancy Sue Wilson 1937-2018
Nancy Sue Wilson 1937-2018

Guess who I saw
today, black and white photo,
Marching, Montgomery from
Selma, ‘65?

Guess who I saw
at my high school swingin’ the
Trio; urging us to stay in school?

Guess who I,
was privileged to sequence
a later CD for, late one night?

…and you don’t know, you don’t know how
Glad I am that she
put the purr in whisper, with a sultry
Sound that could make subpoenas seem sensuous

…and you don’t know, you don’t know how
Glad I am that she
Appeared, sparkling, at the end of the
golden era—looking as good as she sounded—
Her face should grace
Buckeye State flags emblazoned
“There will never be another you…”

…and you don’t know, you don’t know how
Glad I am that she
Hovered earth— stunning hummingbird,
gorgeous humanitarian, giving the greatest
performance of her life, moments I loitered—
not seizing the time and asking, “When did
You leave heaven?”
Though, I think it was maybe ’37? I know she’s

Free Again…

© 2018. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

Raymond Nat Turner is an acclaimed poet and performing artist. You can find much more of his work at http://upsurgejazz.com.

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


More Stories


  • Becca Renk
    46 Years On, Nicaragua’s Youth Still Lead the Revolution
    23 Jul 2025
    Celebrating 46 years of revolution, Nicaragua demonstrates that it is possible to respect its heroes and also venerate its youth. Following years of cultivating leadership in its young people, the…
  • Abayomi Azikiwe
    Poverty and Declining Real Wages in America: Philadelphia Municipal Strike Highlights Worsening Plight of the Working Class
    23 Jul 2025
    An eight-day strike by municipal employees in Philadelphia disrupted the operations of one of the largest cities in the United States amid systematic attacks on the interests and status of working…
  • Horace Campbell
    The Fraudulent Peace Accord between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda signed in Washington DC, June 2025
    23 Jul 2025
    Campbell interrogates the recent DRC-Rwanda peace accord brokered in the US which he terms fraudulent; and poses the question: can the US and Qatar support peace in Africa amidst the militarization…
  • Caitlin Johnstone
    AOC Is a Genocidal Con Artist
    23 Jul 2025
    She’s actively stopping American politics from moving any further left than the nightmare we see before us.
  • Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Trump's Concentration Camps Are Not New to the U.S.
    16 Jul 2025
    Outrage over ICE raids rings hollow while 2 million languish in prisons. America has always had concentration camps. We just reserve our anger for the ones with TV cameras.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us