Because as a parent today I would be supremely mad
That my offspring can be lost in a mistake
where bullets pose as questions
and most don’t get a break!
Things are now going viral
Cameras are all around
And the truth is sometimes hidden
Until someone records you on the ground
Now other nations take shots at our swagger
Cautioning us not to brag too much
Since we haven’t really climbed that ladder
Can we still use “IN GOD WE TRUST”?
And let me mention stop and frisk
Hoodies, loosies and dark skin top the list
There is no explanation for this ISH
Supposedly we now live in a colorblind society
But I see color codes all day on my tv
It is the color of ignorance and unrequited shame
The rights of Privilege that say there is no blame
Everything is progressing toward a New Age of solidarity
A myth that has been perpetuated recently
As if we forgot this country’s history
I wasn’t old enough to see 1963
but the account is out there and it looks
almost the same to me
Pictures of “Politia” pointing guns
Tear gas on crowds protesting in the sun
Flashback to Freedom Riders dying for the Cause
They faced water hoses, death and dogs
Which is why after all these years
A growing outrage is still here
Racism tried to fake its death, but didn’t disappear
But do you know what happened in 63?
The hundreds of marches and protests for liberty
The sit-ins and stand ups for our rights
Sometimes made death the only price
And many died with ropes around their throats
when “Miss Mary” stood up so we
could be addressed with respect and
not to give up hope
Rosa sat down and folk walked so we could all ride
Fannie Lou bravely registered to vote
so we could cast our ballots with pride
Billie sang about “stage fruit” in the trees
dark whispers from a cloudy history that
That makes us question our powers that be
Recent pictures of citizens squinting from the pain
of rubber bullets or pepper spray falling like rain
Is the change that was promised still far away?
Because all I still see is a lack of respect
When the government, prisons and police all get a check
To stand at the gates of this society
And slowly remove the rights that made us free…
This nation] was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened. ... It ought to be possible, in short, for every American to enjoy the privileges of being American without regard to his race or his color. In short, every American ought to have the right to be treated as he would wish to be treated, as one would wish his children to be treated. But this is not the case. ... We are confronted primarily with a moral issue. It is as old as the scriptures and is as clear as the American Constitution. ... One hundred years of delay have passed since President Lincoln freed the slaves, yet their heirs, their grandsons, are not fully free. ... And this nation, for all its boasts, will not be fully free until all its citizens are free. — President Kennedy. [13]
