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

Ms. Cortez Goes to Washington
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
04 Apr 2019
ms cortez goes to washington
The real Washington DC isn't so different from the real Bronx or Queens...

“Never be deceived that the rich will
allow you to vote away their wealth.”
—Lucy Parsons

Bloody flashbacks: southern senators
sitting on Capitalist Hill…’til
Rigor mortis set in…
evolution of African-American voting

Supernatural powers of suffrage—20
minute recipe, 1 day—every 2-4 yrs:
Mix oceans of blood,
rivers of tears, with black cat dander; stir
Donkey dung, goober dust, a rabbit’s foot;
Sprinkle holy water; warm 365/24-7;
1/2 bake Hellfire Missiles in Predator Drone;
Crisp images of august bodies—Bipartisan
Business men/women serve up to seven
Wars—Trillions—Pentagon with the wind!
Finely chop cult of personality,
garnish liberally with piping
hot propaganda, glaze with PSYOP syrup;
Grease the Hill to Feel the Bern…until…

Ms. Cortez goes to Washington—
She don’t hafta come in cape, tights, “S” on
her chest or tattooed: “Care Bear Commie,”
compliments of Fox-box foot soldiers and
scribblers. Just “shake it up, baby.” Just
Talk the talk—impossible shit. We do the
Difficult: Montgomery Bus Boycott, 8 Hr.Day,
Abolition of slavery—We are our own Liberators!

© 2019. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

© 2019. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.,br/> Raymond Nat Turner is an accomplished poet and 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


  • Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Tell Congress, No War on Iran!
    18 Jun 2025
    If Trump asks congress for approval to wage a war on Iran, he will probably get it.
  • Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    ESSAY: Iran And Beyond: Total War Is Still On The Horizon, Glen Ford, 2007
    18 Jun 2025
    “So they go forward with the old plan, the only one they've got. Attack Iran.”
  • Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Somaliland, US Ally in the New Cold War
    18 Jun 2025
    Somaliland aspires to be an “independent” US military enclave in the Horn of Africa.
  • Jon Jeter
    As the State’s Complexion Darkens, Minnesota’s Liberalism Wanes
    18 Jun 2025
    Minnesota’s progressive myth shatters as its racial gaps in income, education, and housing eclipse even Deep South states, and right wing whites turn to violence against their own people.
  • Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright
    The Only Weapons of Mass Destruction in the Middle East are zionism, U.S./Western Imperialism and Israel’s Nukes
    18 Jun 2025
    The Middle East’s only real weapons of mass destruction are Zionism, U.S. imperialism, and Israel’s nuclear arsenal—a toxic trifecta fueling endless war.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us