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

That is not the Question
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
04 Nov 2020
🖨️ Print Article
That is not the Question
That is not the Question

The question is not if teargas breath thugs
weaponizing COVID; co-signing starvation;
stage whispering, “Lock her up!” ripping
children from mothers’ arms—splintering 
families—will abandon their bunkers and
vacate the War House…

The question is when will the general strike
sprout wings, gliding cross country; and how 
crammed Capitalist Hill and city streets get; 
How surrounded the War House is—and for how
many days, weeks, months—years if necessary? 

The question is not if assassins, coup plotters,
war profiteers plant themselves in perpetuity 
in fertile soil of socialism…
The question is community clinics, postal
banking, solar panels, windmills—when—
And until we’ve boned up on restorative justice—
Terre Haute or Beaumont for Boss Tweet—
Leavenworth or Lompoc for lawless low Barr?

© 2020. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

BAR’s poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner is an accomplished performing artist. You can find much more of his work at http://upsurgejazz.com   .

COMMENTS?

Please join the conversation on Black Agenda Report's Facebook page at http://facebook.com/blackagendareport

poetry

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


Related Stories

Editors, The Black Agenda Review
POEM: Poem for Walter Rodney, Edward Kamau Brathwaite, 1981  
11 June 2025
“any where or world where there is love there is the sky and its blue free
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
A few lines for the Poet Ojenke...
21 May 2025
RIP: Rise In Poetics to Ra
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
POEM: Reflections after the June 12th March of Disarmament, Sonia Sanchez, 1982
18 December 2024
“I have come to you tonite not just for the stoppage
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Love My Black Job
11 September 2024
Love my Black Job— Black Student Union Job! Hired at L.A. City College As “The Peoples Poet!”
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
POEM: Enemy of the Sun, Samih al-Qasim, 1970
29 May 2024
Read against the terrible incineration of Rafah today, this poem of resistance and refusal, by Pa
Image of Refaat Alareer sitting in a crowd of graduates
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
POEM: If I Must Die, Refaat Alareer, 2023
13 December 2023
Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer, a martyr of zionist state genocidal violence, has left us with a tale of resistance and hope.
Protest for Palestine at the White House
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Trigger Warning
22 November 2023
Trigger Warning Palestine’s the Answer— What was the Question?
Another June 1
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Another June 1
07 June 2023
                                       
BAR Book Forum: Jon Jon Moore’s “The Calling: Poems”
Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
BAR Book Forum: Jon Jon Moore’s “The Calling: Poems”
16 February 2022
In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book.
Our ‘democracy’
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Our ‘democracy’
23 July 2021
Shangri-La—untaxed, socially-distanced champagne- caviar, Cayman Island, yacht crowds who

More Stories


  • BAR Book Forum: Ralina Joseph’s “Postracial Resistance”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Ralina Joseph’s “Postracial Resistance”
    10 Jul 2019
    “Code speaking” in the presence of Power can be strategic, but it is also fraught with perils for Black folk.
  • BAR Book Forum: Ashanté Reese’s “Black Food Geographies”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Ashanté Reese’s “Black Food Geographies”
    10 Jul 2019
     “Deserts are natural phenomena, but the lack of food services in Black communities is a systemic, man-made evil.
  • Kamala Harris Has a Distinguished Career of Serving Injustice
    Marjorie Cohn
    Kamala Harris Has a Distinguished Career of Serving Injustice
    10 Jul 2019
    Harris favored criminalizing truancy, raising cash bail fees and keeping prisoners locked up for cheap labor.
  • What Bronx’s “Decade of Fire” Teaches Us About Housing Racism in America Today
    Martino Mazzonis
    What Bronx’s “Decade of Fire” Teaches Us About Housing Racism in America Today
    10 Jul 2019
    Between 1968 and the end of the ‘70s, the Bronx was the scene of thousands of fires.
  • Defend the Post Office, Defend Black Workers
    Paul Prescod
    Defend the Post Office, Defend Black Workers
    10 Jul 2019
    The history of black postal workers demonstrates the critical importance of government employment and a robust public sector.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us