I had a dream last night that turned into a nightmare,
I woke up still asleep and walked to school full of fear.
The kids gave me weird looks and I didn't know why,
One kid knocked down my books and said, "All negroes should die."
Then I questioned myself, how I got to this place
Because where I come from it's frowned upon to act that way.
But I held my head high as I continued on
And was then swept away in a space time continuum.
To the back of bus where colours were separated,
Except for one noble black woman that didn't feel like being segregated.
She claimed her front seat and refused to get up
For a white man ignorant of the term "love".
I swear my heart broke right then and there,
As I suddenly became shamefully aware.

Next thing I know I'm marching in the street,
Holding signs that preach the definition of free.
They demand justice among all men,
Equal rights I fight to defend.
I look around at all the other determined faces
Then see beyond them all and witness what true hate is.
I hear them shouting at us all to just give up and go home,
They'll never share a restroom with a common negro.
But still we march and preach for the pursuit of happiness,
I soak it all in and the scene suddenly changes.

Now in front of millions I stand and speak of the future.
I tell them where I came from and how much we could do here
If we loved one another and just let freedom ring,
That a nation could rise up and finally live by its creed.
That years from now we'll look back and shake our heads on the past,
And thank God Almighty that we are free at last.
I snapped out of my dream with a whole new respect
And finally realized the freedom in which I've been blessed,
By a strong generation that fought for justice
And changed an entire nation that was once so oppressed.

As I get ready to take on a new day
I'll realize how far my race has really come,
And the determined words of those before me
Have battled true evil, and won.