I grew excited as they built me

Because the men, they would talk

Of the grand place I would be.

 

For the Land of the Free

And the Home of the Brave

They made me, Lady Liberty.

 

They shipped me across the sea

And I was anxious to witness

My new home in all its glory.

 

An answer to a people's plea,

I celebrated the liberation of men

According to Lincoln's decree.

 

However, it soon was evident

These men weren't granted liberty

Despite the words of our president. 

 

The color of their skin

Disgusting and threatening in the

Eyes of thier white kin. 

 

This darker pigmentation

The excuse for past, current, and future

Oppression, hatred, and discrimination. 

 

Divided through segregation,

Rather than coming together

This country faced separation.

 

Jim Crow laws haunting

The Black man, and behind him

The Ku Klux Klan, hunting.

 

As I watched the white man on his throne,

Harming the black one in his home, 

My silent tears would fall.

 

Now, the black man was strong

And stood his ground,

Resilient in knowing this was wrong.

 

I would stand and wait

For the day the Black man

Triumphed and love beat hate.

 

Four score years after I arrived

And witnessed vast injustice,

Came proof their spirit survived.

 

The world could hear a roaring cry

For justice, equality, and life,

A cause for which many would die. 

 

I saw the white man beat,

Hose, arrest, abuse, and murder,

Desperate to remain elite.

 

Many leaders would rise,

MLK, Rosa, Malcolm X, and more,

And many would face their demise. 

 

As I watched the repercussions of demanding justice

And saw the damage of centuries of you versus us,

My silent tears would fall. 

 

And while this movement brought change

With the Civil Rights Act and Voting Acts,

Its implementing was poorly arranged.

 

Years of maltreatment left a scar,

Disadvantaging a certain population,

While people act like things are up to par. 

 

And still the system consistently

Perpetrates this inequality,

Requiring demands for justice persistently. 

 

I see discrimination and hatred continually thrive,

Blacks tip-toeing to stay alive.

So today my silent tears still fall.

 

I see millions of people turn a blind eye

While their innocent brothers and sisters die,

So today my silent tears fall.

 

I see the just, brave ones who take a stand

Again attacked by those who swear to protect this land,

So today my silent tears still fall.

 

Until there is justice,

Until there is equality,

Until there is peace,

My silent tears will fall.

 

For America, I stand tall,

But for me, it is clear

America does not stand at all.