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

“No Matter What Sign You Are,”4th Supreme
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
16 Jan 2019
🖨️ Print Article
the supremes
The Supremes

Mary was mysterious,
but the best dancer
Diana, the magnetic,
cooing romancer—
But, here’s a secret I know:
cats like me dug Miss Flo—
And the 4th Supreme’s ‘fro!

The 4th Supreme came
Singing tones ‘tween
Douglass and Carmen McRae—
Malcolm X and Lady Day

The 4th Supreme came
Singing “Stop In The Name Of Love!”
by way of Brandeis/Bombing-ham—
hitting Dynamite Hill high notes

The 4th Supreme came
Singing “Reflections”
in silver bracelets, on a
Newsweek cover captioned:
“Red, Black and Wanted!”

Hoover hated her harmonies with millions…
But I heard, “Set me free, why don’t you, babe?”
Rocking me to “ …Try Something New:”
Dialectics…

 

The 4th Supreme came
Singing, “I Hear A Symphony—”
“No Matter What Sign You Are,”
in ’08—but I
forgive her and comrades
and friends for singing flat
Madison Avenue smash hits: “Yes,
we can and bottle Jim Jones Juice;”
“regime Change you can believe in—”
delivering “Nothing But Heartaches” to
Honduras, Libya, Syria, Mother Africa…

© 2018. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.
Raymond Nat Turner, our poet in residence, is an accomplished performing artist. You can find much more of his work at http://upsurgejazz.com.

poetry

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


More Stories


  • VOCAL-NY
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    New Yorkers Need More Housing Vouchers
    14 Jun 2024
    Milton Perez joins us to discuss the lack of affordable housing in New York City and the housing access voucher program.
  • Haitians building the Ouanaminthe canal
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Haitian Sovereignty and the Construction of the Ouanaminthe Canal
    14 Jun 2024
    Dr. Bertrhude Albert joins us to discuss the construction of the Ouanaminthe Canal, the history of the Massacre River, and the project's importance to the Haitian people.
  • Involuntary servitude is slavery
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Ending Prison Slavery in California
    14 Jun 2024
    Dorsey Nunn joins us to discuss a proposed amendment to California’s state constitution, ACA 8, which aims to abolish involuntary servitude as a form of criminal punishment.
  • Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Israel's Rescue Massacres Civilians and Censors Media
    12 Jun 2024
    Israel is crowing about rescuing four people held hostage and killing more than 200 Palestinians in the process. It is typical behavior for the apartheid state but all of the pressure it exerts can’t…
  • Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    ESSAY: Which Way for the Jamaican Left? Rupert Lewis, 1993
    12 Jun 2024
    This short history of the Workers Party of Jamaica (WPJ) demonstrates that there was a moment in time when a radical remaking of Jamaican society seemed possible.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us