Blistered, dry, and cracked feet

With little to no clothing and no food to eat.

My people were brought into this country to pick cotton in the heat

Then sold off to others like pieces of meat

But when trying to escape we were not granted the privilege of being free.

 

Slaves,

Yes my ancestors were slaves who worked for their white masters from the cradle to the grave.

And it took a while for them to stand up and be brave

And save the future generations that would carry on their names

And one day make a change.

 

Abraham Lincoln, was given credit for freeing the slaves

But he did nothing more than changing the name.

From slavery to separation,

No one truly freed our nation,

We were just introduced to a new type of discrimination,

Segregation.

 

Blistered, dry, and cracked feet

And with little to no rights we hit the streets.

During peaceful protest and boycotts asking for equality

Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat.

And later on Martin Luther King got up in front of the world and gave a great speech,

A speech about his dream for peace

And a dream that declared that we are all free.

 

Free, from the water hose that drowned us in the street

And freed from the dogs that fed on our flesh like a great treat

And water fountains that told us where we could and could not drink

And restaurant owners that refused to let us eat

We were free

And all because of his dream.

 

His dream transformed our nation

Ended segregation and started integration

But did his dream make a full manifestation

In a society that puts a veil over its discrimination

 

But just like Dr. King, I too have a dream

A dream that equality won’t be so hard to reach

And that one day we can all rest our tired feet

And truly be free.

 

Chained and battered feet

With jail cells built for us by the age of 18

And jobs that pay us half of a white man’s salary

As we are told that we are free

Because of Abraham Lincoln and Dr. Martin Luther King

And a dream that is still waiting to become a reality

Free

 

“Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty we are free at last!”

With a black president that says yes we can

While we still are being punished by "the man”

Who slaps handcuffs on our wrists then throws us in “the can”

Yes we can!

Be profiled by the police, killed in the middle of the street

While our killers run free.

Free

 

Why are we still not free?

When our Constitution says that all men are created equally

And that we are all given the same opportunities

In the land that keeps us under great scrutiny

 

Freedom

Will we ever receive it?

Or is it our choice to believe it?

Believe that we are already free

While facing hypocrisy in our society

 

Well I refuse to sit in the back seat

And live off of food stamps as if it is a cultural necessity

And yes I better be

The one that achieves my destiny

And rises above every expetation that is set for me

Because my dream will become a reality

And I will be the change that I don’t see happening

 

So that my freedom won’t ever be questioned

And I won’t have to sit in the coach section

I’ll be flying first class above the negativity

And build a nation that is truly free

 

Free

Blistered, dry, and cracked feet

Are the feet of my ancestors who worked hard to be freed

As I sit and think that freedom should be given to me

Because America has robbed me of my history

While leaving total freedom as a mystery

I wonder will I ever be

Free.