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 a young labor leader leading by example
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
13 Aug 2025
🖨️ Print Article
Chris Smalls
Democracy NOW

“The future of labor is the future of America.”  
                                  —John L. Lewis

When butchers boarded in 
International waters—
Drenching our screens scarlet with blood lust
Bankrolled by our treasure—despite our oceans of tears …

When buccaneers boarded in
International waters— 
And laughed at lawful orders to stand down. To not
Kidnap, shanghai, pressgang peace activists aboard

When freebooters boarded in
International waters—
Shocking shoulder-to-shoulder, back-to-back body
Language greeted them: “Hands up, don’t shoot!”

When pariah state pirates boarded in
International waters— 
Gold doubloons disappeared and became baby formula,
Diapers, stuffed animals, and assorted hygiene supplies

When scurvy bigots boarded in 
International waters—
We prayed against ‘sand-nigger’ servings of rifle-butts; and other
DEI (Death Emaciation Injury) ‘perks,’ hourly granted Palestinians

When bellicose ship wreckers boarded in 
International waters— 
We held historical breaths. Imagined a U.S. traffic
Stop. Militant Black labor leader shot on the spot!

Alas, our young labor leader’s home! Life uncrushed like cigarette butt— by
Bulldozer. Un-pierced by whistling sniper’s bullet. Home, warehousing curses,
Taunts, knees, blows— pitiful— feeble in hand-to-hand combat with hands of
Time …

Š 2025. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

Raymond Nat Turner is a NYC poet, BAR's Poet-in-Residence, and founder/co-leader of the jazz-poetry ensemble UpSurge!NYC. You can vote for his work at GoFundMe and PayPal.

labor
Christian Smalls
Palestine
Gaza
Israel
humanitarian

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


Related Stories

Abayomi Azikiwe
Poverty and Declining Real Wages in America: Philadelphia Municipal Strike Highlights Worsening Plight of the Working Class
23 July 2025
An eight-day strike by municipal employees in Philadelphia disrupted the operations of one of the largest cities in the United States amid syst
Caitlin Johnstone
AOC Is a Genocidal Con Artist
23 July 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
Biden's Fate and Israel's Sadistic Revenge
21 May 2025
Israel is starving Gazans to death and continuing its bombing attacks on civilians.
Sean L. Malloy
How the creation of the ‘New Antisemitism’ was used to shield Israel and attack the Left
30 April 2025
Challenges to Zionism in the late 1960s and 1970s sparked an effort to redefine antisemitism focused on defending Israel while attacking the po
Hands Off protest
Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
HANDS OFF NATO? Not Palestine? Who got the memo?
09 April 2025
The Democrats’ HANDS OFF rallies included “HANDS OFF NATO” and excluded “HANDS OFF PALESTIN
Alan MacLeod
Betar: the Far-Right Hate Group Helping Trump Deport Israel’s Critics
09 April 2025
Betar U.S., a far-right Zionist organization with ties to violent extremism, is quietly shaping Trump administration policy, compiling lists of
Briahna Joy Gray
Why Did MSNBC Cancel Joy Reid?
12 March 2025
Some speculated that racism explains the firing of the liberal anchor. But MSNBC doesn't have a problem with Black hosts.
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
Liberals Want War in Ukraine, Trump Wants Peace in Ukraine, But All Agree on Death in Gaza
05 March 2025
Donald Trump’s efforts to normalize relations with Russia, and to end the fighting in the Ukraine proxy
Alan MacLeod
Marco Rubio: From ‘Perfect Little Puppet’ to Most Dangerous Man Alive
29 January 2025
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
Joe Biden's Terrible Legacy
15 January 2025
The moniker “Genocide Joe” is well deserved and one that Joe Biden can never live down, along with any

More Stories


  • Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Kagame Did Not Invade DRC to Save Tutsis
    05 Feb 2025
    Rwandan President Paul Kagame sends troops into the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to seize territory and resources, not to save Congolese Tutsis. Rwandan Genocide survivor and human rights…
  • Clau O'Brien Moscoso
    The Perfect US Puppet Narco State: CIA and State Department Control Over Ecuador
    05 Feb 2025
    Ecuador was once a safe country. However, U.S. interference, the rise of neoliberal economic policies, the dollarization of its currency, and enhanced state repression have combined to worsen the…
  • Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    DEI in the sky
    05 Feb 2025
    "DEI in the Sky" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence.
  • Jon Jeter
    Across the Country, Black Voters Show Signs of Abandoning Black Mayors Who Have Abandoned Them
    05 Feb 2025
    The adage that "black faces in high places won't help us" still rings true when you look at Black mayors like Karen Bass, Eric Adams, and Lori Lightfoot. Residents of their respective cities have…
  • Jacqueline Luqman
    DEI’s Swift Demise Exposes The Absurdity Of Trusting The Oppressors To Correct Themselves
    05 Feb 2025
    Donald Trump recently issued an executive order that eliminates all Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs in the federal government. While this act demonstrates Trump's unwavering…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us