Oh Bayard Oh Bayard

How tragic for you

For your name to be eschewed-ignored

Except by a few

Athlete-student-singer

You were a Renaissance man

And nonviolence was not an option

But one the Quakers demand

You organized protests

Before we heard of King

You were born to rebel

Your courage should ring

Was it because of your preference

That your name was mired

What crime

Such hatred inspired

You laid the groundwork for the March on Washington

But you had to stay in the back

Because one of your own

Threatened a character attack

Over 30 years have passed

Since you have left

May your story inspire us all

To be our true self