They continued to struggle

Living in the cracks

With the problems they juggled

Because they are black

 

But then they came out

Tired of being hidden

Showed their true talents

That the whites have forbidden

 

Creating new music

The one known as jazz

Which derived from the blues

And their ancestors’ past

 

There were other arts

The ones who’d write

You ever heard of Langston Hughes?

Who wrote about black life?

 

How about Josephine Baker

Known for her little banana skirt

Starring in the French movie Zou Zou

And danced till her feet hurt

 

There was even Bill Robinson-

The most popular black entertainer

Who was also nicknamed Bojangles,

Shirley Temple’s stair-dancing butler

 

The “father of black American art”,

Also known as Aaron Douglas,

Used modern and African styles to depict

black struggles

Which influenced other artists

 

Singers such as Billie Holiday-

the affliction of black lives was what they sang

She crooned a powerful song called Strange Fruit

That described blacks being hanged

 

All the talents that have been revealed

Changed American culture forever

Still no rights have been earned

But never stopped them to surrender

 

Opportunities now open for many,

Thanks to the ones who’ve been recognized

A new pride in the African American community arose,

Breaking free from untrue stereotypes