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

STOP the killers!
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
07 Jan 2026
🖨️ Print Article
Fisherman

Burlap bags stuffed with tuna and blue marlin.
Catch of a lifetime! Juan’s already counting the
cash in his head. Visualizing pawn shop guitar
for Gabriel, his 10 yr old son, graduating to guitar
from ukulele. Gabriel’s greeted morning rooster-
like— since age 3—  with “Let’s practice, Papa!”

Before pushing off to sea Juan bought the computer 
Rosario wished for from a journalism student he met
at the fish market training fishmongers to compute. He
also bought the bicycle Maria longed and stashed it at
a neighbor’s house. Juan was out to make his young
family’s Christmas the best ever.

BOOM!
Bloody mess below his waist. Juan’s a strong swimmer. But
he can’t feel his legs. He quickly grabs on to fiery flotsam.
Is that Javier hanging on for dear life across from him?
He hears his children’s joyful shrieks. Sees them jumping
Up and down with joy. He kisses Lourdes long and tenderly …

BOOM!
A pomade man has amplified orders of
his demented Don into “Kill them all!”
Laughing, they dub it  a “double-tap 
strike —”
like some cool dance step
signaling mad moves to come …


© 2026. 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.

Venezuela
imperialism
US Military
Military aggression
extrajudicial killings
Caribbean

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


Related Stories

Stephen Millies
Don’t Let Them Kill Cilia Flores!
14 October 2026
While Trump pardoned an actual drug lord president, he keeps a kidnapped Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife, First Combatant Ce
Black Alliance For Peace
The Black Alliance for Peace Condemns Renewal of Neocolonial Gang Suppression Force UN Mandate in Haiti
07 October 2026
The UN's renewal of the Gang Suppression Force mandate is part of a wider hemispheric project to reassert military control across the Americas.
Berthony Dupont
How the OAS Works for Imperialism in Haiti
07 October 2026
The armed groups in Haiti are not a spontaneous wave of banditry, but a scheme orchestrated by imperialist powers in concert with a reactionary
Abel Prieto
Venezuela: It Is What You See
30 September 2026
A photograph of Delcy RodrĂ­guez smiling with Donald Trump after the U.S.
Pambazuka News Editors
TĂĽrkiye, UAE, and the Imperialist Chain: African Ports and War
30 September 2026
Imperialist competition and wars that facilitate extractivism have long shaped the use of seaports for access to resources, markets, and devalu
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
The U.S. Determination to Achieve Full Spectrum Dominance is Not In Decline
23 September 2026
The trope of the United States being in a state of decline is a common one, but it should not be accepted without scrutiny. The U.S.
Jacqueline Luqman
The Perfect Victim Narrative Applied To Foreign Policy Only Keeps U.S. Imperialism Alive
23 September 2026
The demand to call out alleged crimes in Iran or Cuba while those countries face annihilation from the U.S.
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
The Ultimate Betrayal of Alex Saab and the Fate of Nicolás Maduro and the Venezuelan People
16 September 2026
The United States got its hands on Alex Saab a second time in order to use him in its case against Nicolás Maduro. The U.S.
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
COMMENTARY: The Shrinking American Empire, Glen Ford, 2009
16 September 2026
“The Iraq invasion greatly accelerated the process of U.S. imperialism’s decline.” 
Gary Wilson
Germany’s war drive feeds the far right in Saxony-Anhalt
16 September 2026
The AfD's landslide in Saxony-Anhalt reflects real working-class anger at the war and the arms buildup, but the party redirects that anger towa

More Stories


  • African and Indigenous Peoples: An Alliance for Defense, Survival and Revolution
    Mark P. Fancher
    African and Indigenous Peoples: An Alliance for Defense, Survival and Revolution
    23 Nov 2022
    The day known as Thanksgiving is an opportunity to remember how the settler colonial state began its genocide against both indigenous people and enslaved Africans. 
  • The End of American Thanksgivings: A Cause for Universal Rejoicing
    Glen Ford , BAR executive editor
    The End of American Thanksgivings: A Cause for Universal Rejoicing
    23 Nov 2022
    Glen Ford wrote many powerful essays, but his unflinching analysis of the history of the holiday we call Thanksgiving endures nearly 20 years after he wrote it.
  • “No More American Thanksgivings” and Other Essays Book Review: Glen Ford, 2022, The Black Agenda, OR Books
    Roger D. Harris
    “No More American Thanksgivings” and Other Essays Book Review: Glen Ford, 2022, The Black Agenda, OR Books
    23 Nov 2022
    Glen Ford's posthumously published book, The Black Agenda, is a testament to the enduring power of his work. 
  • Ujima’s Plan to Transcend Neoliberalism in Maryland
    Phillip Clark
    Ujima’s Plan to Transcend Neoliberalism in Maryland
    23 Nov 2022
    The Ujima People's Progress Party is organizing outside of the duopoly in an effort to gain true political representation for Black working people. 
  • Widespread Panic as Anti-Haitian Decree Goes into Effect in Dominican Republic
    Carlos Edill BerrĂ­os Polanco
    Widespread Panic as Anti-Haitian Decree Goes into Effect in Dominican Republic
    23 Nov 2022
    In the Dominican Republic, Haitian migrants or any dark-skinned Black person can be arrested, have their belongings seized, and be deported from that country. Anti-Haitian sentiment and legislation…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us