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

Bye, Big Sis
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
11 May 2022
Bye, Big Sis

                                                                                                          Bye, Big Sis

Cred befo’ ‘Ree cried: R-E-S-P-E-C-T for

the record; Feminist befo’ we knew its name

pre-Panther Radical, Mama Harriet-style, you

packed that Luger before there was unpacking,

centering, contextualizing.

You trained with brothers who became BPP

fore there was intersectionality.

You spoke Spanish; Swahili; handled your French;

Italian; German; Arabic—crossing teas; dotting eyes…

But Caffie wrenched the gun from your hand—

putting her children in your hands—weaponizing

Us, instead of losing you—shooting some cop.

Made you magnificent mentor ‘stead of middling martyr— Community-building big

sis; ‘stead of forgotten #????????

We, younger brothers and sisters, stared as you strode lioness-like through sun shards

on “The Stem—”

Bunchy’s beloved Central Avenue! We watched

how you navigated an apartheid City of Angels—

Ruled by devils. Cuz we longed to make you proud…

We, younger brothers and sisters, watched as you walked the world down in wondrous

ways, from the feet of Elder/soldiers who’d fled up south from Hell.

We watched you seize the time as elder/soldier—

beautiful, statuesque, warrior woman—baddest,

blackest ‘fro this side of Angela. You came equipped! Skillsets/talents taking you

‘round the world in its wine,  weed, drums, dance, food, fashion funky-ness— even Porkchop torture! Your po’ kidneys/Pay or Die Disease-‘care!’

We, younger brothers and sisters, watched as you birthed Black beauty into our chalky

worlds. Our first live theater. Sitting in the dark. Eyes bugged out; hot young minds

blown… You on stage

Baldwin’s words in your mouth! You: Sister Boxer. Whitman Mayo: Brother

Boxer/your husband. We: Your Amen Cornerfor life…

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

Los Angeles
Black Panther Party

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


Related Stories

Adam Mahoney
From Watts to D.C.: How 500 Black Neighborhoods Vanished in 45 Years
02 July 2025
America’s gentrified neighborhoods have lost 500,000 Black people, while gaining residents of every other race, a study finds.
Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
Southern Panther Malik Rahim
14 May 2025
In “A Southern Panther,” movement elder Malik Rahim talks about his lifetime of battling ra
Lexis-Olivier Ray
Black People Make Up 75% Of All Weed Arrests At LAX, Data Shows
16 April 2025
Roughly a third of the people who were arrested by LAPD in the city of Los Angeles for cannabis-related offenses since 2020 were arrested in We
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
The fire this time … (as Amiri tolt me)
29 January 2025
“Scratch a lie—find a thief !”
NY Panther 21
Dhoruba bin-Wahad
55th Anniversary of the NY Panther 21 Case
03 April 2024
The trial of the New York Panther 21 was the moment in the Black liberation movement that ushered in an era of intensified state repressio
Saturday Mornings
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Saturday Mornings
29 March 2023
                                         
Eddie Conway Tribute
Mali Collins
Eddie Conway Tribute
15 March 2023
The late Eddie Conway was a young member of the Black Panther Party who was framed for the killing of a police officer and spent more
Grandstanding: Mayoral Candidate Karen Bass Says She Can Solve LA’s Homelessness Crisis
Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
Grandstanding: Mayoral Candidate Karen Bass Says She Can Solve LA’s Homelessness Crisis
27 July 2022
As the late Glen Ford said, the Black misleadership class has no shame.
BAR Book Forum: Interview with Akinyele Umoja
Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
BAR Book Forum: Interview with Akinyele Umoja
08 June 2022
As part of the Black Agenda Report Book Forum, we interview scholars about a recent article they’ve written for either an academic journal or p
911 Is a Joke: Preferring to Shoot Unarmed Blacks, Cops Find It Ain't No Fun When the Rabbit Has the Gun
Jon Jeter
911 Is a Joke: Preferring to Shoot Unarmed Blacks, Cops Find It Ain't No Fun When the Rabbit Has the Gun
01 June 2022
Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) began after an LAPD raid on the Black Panthers in 1969 and spread throughout the country.

More Stories


  • Erica Huggins
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Panther Woman: The Political and Spiritual Life of Ericka Huggins
    01 Aug 2025
    Mary Frances Phillips is an associate professor of African American Studies at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. She joins us from Detroit to discuss her biography of Ericka Huggins, "…
  • Map of soccer games
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Sports, Political Education, and Football in the U.S.
    01 Aug 2025
    Robert Wilson is a U.S.-born philosopher who has lived in Brazil for many years. He is the author of “The Football Manifesto and Club Handbook: Bringing the Beautiful Game to the People and Making…
  • Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Obama Colluded with the Surveillance State Against Trump
    30 Jul 2025
    It is true that Barack Obama used the surveillance state apparatus in an effort to undermine the first Donald Trump administration with the Russiagate fraud.
  • Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    EDITORIAL: Centenary of Negro Emancipation, Marcus Garvey, 1934
    30 Jul 2025
    “When the American and West Indian Negroes get to know their history…they will have a greater love for the African through whom they have sprung.”
  • Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Zionists Accuse Yves Engler of Genocide Denial
    30 Jul 2025
    The Canadian branch of B'nai B'rith has accused author, activist, and political candidate Yves Engler of genocide denial.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us