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

Salute To Shift Holders! (Down With Boss Tweet!)
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
25 Jan 2018
🖨️ Print Article
Salute To Shift Holders!  (Down With Boss Tweet!)

He’s, obviously, not a New Yorker,
riding trains 4 and 5 in the morning.
Trains packed with hoodie-crowned;
shuttered chocolate, mocha, peanut
butter, caramel, coffee-colored faces—
Lunch bucket UN—palpable power,
Grabbing their last Zs, before Shifts
Holding levers, running the city.

He, obviously, gets no coffee,
street snacks, scarves, gloves,
posters, CDs, DVDs, caps, T-shirts
from carts and stands tourists treasure;
Carts and stands powered by African, Asian,
Latin American, Caribbean, Middle Eastern labor…

Lord knows he’s never been
to bodegas named Ameer's,
or Branson’s juice bar,
or the Texas Star,
Tarboosh, Nanoosh,
Cafe One, Clove, Dig Inn,
or Peace Food—where
Workers from plundered countries
Toil—countries Boss Tweet dissed!
Eateries where workers break bread,
rub shoulders, swap stories: U.S. bases,
Blood-soaked “boots on the ground,” Coups,
Death squads, decomposing bodies, bullets,
Bombs, missiles chasing families from
smoldering homelands…“in harm’s way”

Tweet’s just a paper towel-tossing,
beetle-brained, feces-faced
Clown, giving cover to 1%
Pickpockets working the crowd—
Look for him in the sewer…
Days when all trains empty at
City Hall and Wall Street…

Raymond Nat Turner © 2018 All Rights Reserved

Our poet in residence, Raymond Nat Turner is an acclaimed poet and performing artist. You can find much more of his work at http://upsurgejazz.com.

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


More Stories


  • Monique Welch-Rutherford
    This Texas County Is the Deadliest Place in the U.S. for Black Mothers to Give Birth
    21 Jan 2026
    Harris County, home to a world-renowned medical center, holds the worst maternal death rate for Black women in the entire nation. This staggering statistic represents a systemic failure that subjects…
  • x
    Orinoco Tribune
    Venezuela Rejects CIA Award Rumors While President Maduro’s Son Sparks Backlash Over Comments Suggesting to Resume Diplomatic Ties with ‘Israel’
    21 Jan 2026
    Venezuela's official stance remains one of principled anti-imperialism. Internal discussions reflect the complex realities of navigating a crisis.
  • Ramzy Baroud
    Teetering on the Brink of Genocide: Why Netanyahu is Keen on Prolonging the Gaza War
    21 Jan 2026
    Netanyahu's continuation of the Gaza genocide is integral to the continuity of the zionist project.
  • BAR Radio Logo
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio January 16, 2026
    16 Jan 2026
    In this week’s segment, we discuss the abuse of state power domestically and internationally. In Minnesota, the Trump administration has unleashed ICE, resulting in the fatal shooting of a US citizen…
  • Caracas
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Diego Sequera on Venezuelan Resistance
    16 Jan 2026
    Diego Sequera is a Venezuelan journalist. He joins us from Caracas to discuss the Venezuelan people's solidarity with the Bolivarian Revolution in the wake of the January 3rd kidnapping of President…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us