Civil Rights

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Tell me more about democracy   Nobody is a fool Tell me more about dichotomy Go ahead! I am cool
Last night I had that dream again... 
People are rioting in the streets of D.C., a plague is upon us, from Wuhan's best fresh meats, Syria fights and bombs their own, women and children lie dead in that town.
Hate swelled up inside me, choking me,strangling me, hiding myself from behind it i could only stand and watch as i bellowed and shout at my friend.   I heard me abuse him,
This is the dark time,my love, all round the land brown beetles crawl about. the shining sun is hidden in the sky, red flowers bnd their heads in awful sorrow.   This is the dark time,my love
When i was stumbling in the dark,confused and crying out for help, this friendly fello seemed amused;   And while i fought like anything to keep the candle lit  he cheerfully reviewed
Beautiful black nurturing Mother, Throughout history there is no other,
Who Am I? Am i a shadwo,a chair or even a doorway?   I am a shadow  A shadow that has no way, I am there but people walk through me  I stand aside,but still trouble follows;
You say it’s not the same Your love And our love But why? Why can’t it be the same? You like who you like, And we like who we like. If we aren’t bothering you, Then why bother?
Created for a family bond After mass incarceration broke the family bond Needing a sense of love and protection   For many Gangs took on those wanting affections People arrested on non-violent crimes
This is no dream to me It was not my ancestors dream It was not something we wanted to achieve   Kidnapping and capturing brought us here Where we built on once sacred Native lands
Do you care Do you give a damn Look around at all this bloodshed   We're not making this up It's time to wisen up The evidence has always been here   People are dying
To know thyself  is to self destruct  out of luck  Crying out in newborn desperation  People watch in fascination  Called to discrimination  Ears filled with litigation  One nation 
PREFACE: gloogenheister, gloogenheister he's a looks a bit like a little gleister gloogenheister, gloogenheister he's mouth has just fangs looks like a gliester gloogenhesiter, gloogenheister
When I grow up,I'd like to be a political doctor And go down in history books for unveiling the mistry of helping this ailing nation. A nation so ill that the will of the people is no longer an issue
Inspiration is a powerful word. It shows our creativity as I am sure you have heard. People get inspired from differnt things. For me, it is the one and only, Martin Luther King.
“Are you okay?" they ask."Yeah, I'm just tired" I answer.Just tired of work pilling up.Just tired of stress.Just tired of not being able to sit     in math class without having an anxiety attack.
Saviour spoke Those incarcerated, Under siege Locked in and Excommunicated Those who need watching Who don’t know how to live Shall be bestowed, With a magical hug To cure them of
Admiring his handiwork, he stood Before the wall drenched in paint. They compared him to Banksy; they would Claim he could draw anything, without complaint.   But comparison to anyone was degrading,
La Boca the mouth Mi Boca My mouth I speak but I am hushed Callate me dicen No one should be allowed to speak   tienes poder Lo tienes? Do you have power? No.
Frustrated!Frustrated at the actions of the people who's supposed to protect/Frustrated that right now my skin makes me a logical suspect/
Congratulations. You’ve done it. With words of wisdom and liberty, You can lean back and sit
Back bent carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, Shirt soaked as open wounds ooze oppression,
My brothers marched as one today They never saw it coming And I have never seen such pain Or so many people running   With dead set eyes and shaking hands, 
Ms. Claudette Colvin,   As a targeted, yet resilient, black teenager, They didn’t take you seriously: Your actions were done impulsively Not a proper symbol of a savior  
I have a journey in mind What can be sweet and kind About this world in which we live What does this morning give?
It’s  a little past midnight and something doesn’t feel quite right… I’m sitting in bed, with crazy thoughts in my head, trying to understand why it’s so hard for Negros to get ahead.
“I’m Not A Threat, Unless Your A Threat To Me” Why can’t you just let me be Why are you offended when I decide to take a knee Why can’t, you see, why we, seem to disagree
Man, screw the system The system that seems to make everybody a victim Sistahs sprung out on government assistance Politicians out here tryna stop the resistance
Dear America I'm afrrican-american I feel that I do not belong This is not my country.   My country isn't supposed to be this hard This country is for white Americans-- not me.
Duality of Historic and Modern Black Women   -- 1957   Books, carassed in her arm, Elizabeth, pressed on.
Wake up, America the girls are crying, souls are dying brothers in neighborhoods, broke as hell but they’re trying, their utmost best against an unjust system that
I Saw Many Colors In Same. And, I Accept That Was The Truth! Actully I Was A Fool.!                Sailu Bharya
Decisions By :Kyndal Griffin   Decisions, Decisions There are many decisions one can make,
In August of 1965, The Voting Rights Act was Finally Signed. It granted all Americans the right to Vote, without taking tests and paying taxes at the Poll. Thank to our leaders who risked their lives,
Silence can kill a game. Silence has much shame. Silence rings with pain. Silence does not end with change. Silence keeps fears locked away.
Wordsworth and Coleridge taught me some things On appreciating nature and to love what life brings. Wordsworth left his home to travel to beautiful places. He beheld the beauty and let it inspire all his poetry’s faces.
Wordsworth and Coleridge taught me some things On appreciating nature and to love what life brings. Wordsworth left his home to travel to beautiful places. He beheld the beauty and let it inspire all his poetry’s faces.
Why must I turn a blind eye to those that are cruel  people act as if it is a rule  but in my eyes that’s a crime and I will not let it go this time for we must all stand and fight 
Slavery...the practice of forcing an individual to work, With absolutely no pay.Hustling early morning to late night in the fields,With undoubtfully no say.Day by day, the slaves pray,To make it out alive, knowing they must stay. Bull whips constr
Do you know me? Do you know what it's like to be me? Have you taken a walk in my shoes? Oh! I'm just a little black girl in this America we live in. I just have to work a little harder...
Look at her look at you do you see those scars like I do?   They hide within your skin to blend in   You forget about it over time, but did you know it was an abused crime?  
In the land of the free And the home of the brave, Our government plays us Like rats in a cage. We can't afford rent 'Cause money don't pay But there's no way to leave
It’s 4 PM here in Georgia, And I’m enjoying time with my friends We’re studying and laughing together, As we enjoy diversity through our peaceful lens.  
Dear Eskinder Nega,     Before today your name held no meaning I did not think of you for I was still naive  I foolishly assumed that I had such great wisdom But Eskinder, that I can no longer believe 
Fake men afraid to have real conversations Adverse persuasion Scared of world view revelations So the same hatin' going down in police stations
To Humankind, It was not a human hand, That rolled the planets into spheres And placed them side by side. It was not our fingers
Several suffer from the same persecutions. Rough, rampaging  Oceans may seperate the victims in space, but in savage Cruelty they are united. We are denied the rights given to us 
Man is great 
Man is great 
Dear Womanhood, Thank you for your strength For teaching me to hold my head high For giving me the will to fight   Dear Womanhood, You have made me cry
Love is love.It cannot be contained;Love is love.It has no boundaries, no laws;That the government tries to press on us;No social constraints;That others turn their backs at lost causes;
This is to fight back, not violently but gradually  in the streets to meet the justice they deserve, with fists tight and high, as high as skyscrapers and as low as the streets;
Our poor, poor Queen. Folks say she’ll swallow you in one big gulp, But she cannot eat if she’s beaten to a pulp. Her nipples are swollen from her own ravenous descent, And corporate banks fuck her without consent.
My dad got remarried when I was ten. To a woman whose hugs smelled like three shots of tequila before church, we lived in a cracked window, bug baited, squeaky apartment
The sounds of blameless sounds rang upon my ears and every things went wrapping against, At different interflows were the unintended collusions of bleeding leaves crying sweet red,
A woman who speaks her mind without hesitation. A woman who follows her own path and dismisses the disapproving voices. A woman who knows her limits and knows that we are lifelong learners.
My soul is shattering every second of the day Outcasted by hate in any way As I fall my fate begins to fade away But I say NO!
All around are people, too Busy to Care about anything except the moment they are in, too Distracted to notice that they are not the only ones that Exist. They do not have the time to see the world
People like you are dangerous creatures, hiding behind smiles, favours, and preachers.   Fallen from grace, says you, just beacause you don't want to feel forgotten too.  
The opportunity they give me are like the fast food handouts they pass out on the street. Profile me and see what I can be. Black and powerful is what I see. I'm more than a thing I'm a human being a heart and soul is what you can't see.
America was made To be great. From the small towns to businesses, It was all so great. Until one day settlers came along. From Columbus to Addams, They started out strong.
Darkness coils across the horizon, Its fingers clawing at the light. The sun trembles and fades. Grayness wins the sky and Starts its invasion
Are we really who we want to be? Home of the brave and land of the free, Yet turning our back on refugees.   Who are we really? Not giving enough help to the needy, And not always acting morally.
tell me, what what what would you do if you could feel?   killin our people do you see souls behind eyes? killin our people it’s been a dark night   you’ve got to breathe
I used to break door handles, A habit my parents never cherished.  Someone would hide behind the door, And I'd come chasing after them.   The slam of the door  The click of the lock,
America – home of the brave. Neigh – home of the majority   Home of the security, the humility, the fidelity Can anyone see the gravity? The gravity of the situation at the tips of our fingers
What is good and tasteful? Is it to follow what has been force-fed to me? If so, tell me please Is my kind evil and disgraceful? Were We more fit as slaves of your ideals? What is true beauty to an African in America, is as vision to a blind man. 
They told me that I was the product of hundreds of years of pain and suffering,That from the blood of my ancestors, I was given Eyes the color of mud,Hair like a sheep,The complexion of an ape,An inherent lust,A body that should be covered,A cultu
Do my eyes decieve me ? or is it that we live in a destructive country ? that's what I'm trying to figure out  how can our country get better with closed mouths ? instead of perservering as one 
I mean… Is it too much for America to love black people like they love black Friday? We ask, we ask, we ask
  America is free Free of equal rights that women have but still cant decide what happens to our bodies Freedom to vote  but get judged for who you did   Free to be the mixing pot
We the people In order to form a more perfect Union:   Establish a system of injustice- a system of slavery that will never be outlawed
Why Why should I shut my mouth with subjects on moral and humane rights because "I'm...too...young..." "I...wouldn't...understand..." You may be right I don't understand How can,
Say nothing, Do not protest, let the bigotry cause no unrest. People laugh off the the pain, like the insults some sort of jest.   Say nothing,
America oh, America. A nation home to many. America oh, America. The foundations of your values have been revered by many. Liberty is your creed, Freedom is what you bleed, yet many still feel agony.
Who gave you the right to use us at your disposal? In the end,  you'll be alone--- like an empty vessel stuck with resinating regret.  Are you aware that you're leading to your own self destruction? 
Hello, I’m not a coon or a savage And I don’t live in the projects or eat chicken and watermelons for breakfast, lunch and dinner. No, I don’t live on the “block” and sell dope.
America, The country of genocide, suicide,  homicide America, The country of proslavery, bravery, not savoury America, The country of glory, history, territory America, Oh, America, why did you fall from grace?
The Supreme Court has ruled that it is legal to discriminate against people with dreadlocs "It's not a race thing" they said, "It just tends to get messy."   Heinous acts against others,
Welcome to America All are free in this land But if you are black Equal rights you cannot demand. Welcome to America All are free in this land But if you are Muslim
I know you heard me when I asked you to stop using that word I know you heard me when I asked why you speak so hatefully I know you heard me when I told you to stop acting like it was all my fault
  We are the same within our hearts But we are of different kinds. We play different parts, And have much different minds  
How come they don’t see it. The way I do, not the legs walking moving, The body slinking, shaking, The lips red as wine, parting, moving in time to the words….  
This isn't my fight,I say with hidden hands balled into fistsReady to defend those which the comment was againstMy knuckles let go
Dr. King, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Langston Hughes the greats All deriving from our ancestors shipped in crates America you great land of opportunity  
Our skin is not as white as snow Does this make us worthless? A lot of us grew up in single parent homes Does this make us inadequate? We commit the same crimes But why do we only get the life sentences?
Hashtag, “Black lives matter.” Trending, but then what? Hashtag, “All lives matter.” Seems pretty okay, but… I find it quite ironic
As the election went on this year all the Caucasian students were buzzing on my campus Being a young black women you could see the look of “concern” in their eyes as they passed me
there are peopleputting themselves in a box,afraid to step on anyone's toes,never seeing that those,same people have their own feetresting low upon the box,pushing them out to sea.  So when i open my mouth,to speak my free,they turn around, hatefu
This is the story of those who ride the sun.   They end very old and start off very young.   They have kind eyes to see,   ears to listen,   and voices to sing.  
Smashed windows Town stores burned to the ground Streets blocked Cars as our stepstools This is not peaceful Ruined views Torn down pews Yelled, screamed, shouted your brother’s name
When you turn on the news, what's the first thing you see? The Black man that got shot today or the White man on the murderous streak.
From conception, we spend the next nine months wrapped in a cocoon of our mother's protection.   Our cells come together to form
I watch and I hear but where do I start It seems like America is falling apart This land of the free this home of the brave Is killing it’s people and digging their grave We feel everyday when we turn on the news Another hashtag is trending anothe
Everyday i wake up  and cry wondering why i'm still alive  i woke from sun up  to sun down  pulling a little fury thing  my master cals cotton  if i dont pull at least five hundred 
Afraid of my black sisters and brothers since we're a few shades darker   Did you know we all scientifically originate from the Motherland, Africa ?  
We are shot when we are compliant  We are shot when we are defiant  There are mothers crying There are children dying They want to keep us institutionalized I know what the Germans done 
You want a homemade boat? we can cruise on soundwaves Good vibes are limited when you misbehave Jumping in the pool it's our homemade wet n' wild Look out onto Rollin hills while we smiled
Greg Suhr brought me this pair of socks which were machine knitted with uniform precision, and sporting the color blue.
Shot at, choked, and hung All of the above Brought about the young Spreading hate, instead of love   Spat on and discriminated
I was raised to be proud, confident, to embrace full.  To ignore the mugs of the brighter skin, Living Melanin. To wear my curly fro & deny any hands to touch for it was my crown.
"All lives matter," they respond,  as thousands of black and colored people across the country  protest and rage against the countless injustices that have been brought upon black men and women
Poetry is therapeutic I lower my pen to paper And I don't have to pay one hundred-forty dollars for temporary peace of mind Tears released  Breath finally caught I am whole It is memory The bad
This is a cold world of ice and sorrow, Wretched and lost, a search for survival. Time does not pass under blankets of snow, Nothing changes in this vicious cycle.   A caged songbird that can no longer sing,
What an interesting time to live in Where what’s right is deemed wrong Where freedom of decision is now disregarded and we are subjugated into having a forced position
Hopes and dreams, That always seems, Out of her reach. Broken lives, And stolen Dreams. Two winged sky roamer,
Police… Hope for quiet… Someone calls in frightened… Hoping the law will save the day… Ten-four!   Mother… Sends son for milk… Halfway there silence breaks…
Dedicated to the family members and victims of the Orlando Tragedy   When the moon kisses the seas,  The oceans turn red. When the nation mourns the lost, Our hearts turn red.   Night falls…
I have a voice I have opinions I am more than my sexuality Than a novelty Than my gender Last night at a gay night club called Pulse Our world lost 50 souls People who had gone there to be free
A system plagued with innate discrimination, is justified by the masses of the nation. Mass incarceration of minorities, shows genocide is above priorities.  And then what is it that we see?
The Race Game By: Syreeta Morgan The issue of race and racial equality seems to be trending
I saw a white man today, and he Was pretty nice. He was one Of the one’s that pitied us “Niggers”, you Know that’s what they call us.   I bid sir, to tell me what can I do, to
Upon thee arrival of opening heated pearly gates, Patiently I waited for another chance to make a cool escape. The shadows and a violet pen provided me with a plain face,
Hate, violence Fires, Riots Fights, Never stay quiet All caused by two words, Not Guilty  It's fair, it's unfair People asking how can this be ?! The pain is unbearable for most 
We the People,who had a dream,and never told a lie.We who fought for what was right and waved our flag up high.Jolted from the embers of a trailblazer's fire and shot from the barrel of a musket.Shackled and chained and segregated we who rose abov
I am black, but, I am an American, yet, because of my color, you stab me in the back?   They tell me I speak too proper for a girl of my color, and that I could be mistaken as white,
Pretty brown skin, girl you know those boys love you They say you have a “fat ass” so you should show them all a little something No need for modesty, just show your body, be sexy
She’s a person of color, Who’s afraid to confront the police, Asking herself why can’t there be peace. Day and night she thinks about her brother,
What a year. What a year it has been  At the start it looked promising, but then and only then  4 letters flipped the world upside down  I-S-I-S, what a horrible sound 
All I Need Is To Wake Up And Not Be Afraid Anymore To Live A Life of Happiness Not A Life of Regrets or Sorrow To Step Out on Pure and Unwavering Faith And To Live Everyday Like It Is My Last 
I did not ask for struggle, I did not begin it. But when it is presented, I intend to win it. No matter the uphill battle, No matter the stricken tears. At the end of every struggle,
Rest in tranquility because your sacrifices have planted seeds and born fruit beyond compare. Thank you for your valiancy and inspiration.   Thank you for your altruism, stoutheartedness, leadership, and I have a Dream Speech
Martin didn't "die" for us. You see, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Unfortunately this heroic man was so hated. Why? Because he wanted equal rights? What if Dr. King and others didn't fight?
I am Emmett Till. I was beaten to death, so how dare you go through everyday life complaining that it's "pure hell". I'd rather be locked up in a jail cell. Or sitting in a classroom not knowing how to spell.
My dark skin isn't a sin. Your perception of my obscure color is what you have within, and when I look at my reflection, I'm in love with my complexion.
I have lived for decades I have lived for yearsI am the image of the African American girl and her struggle.
4
In China, hospitals skip the fourth and the fourteenth floor because four in Mandarin Chinese iss hi, the same pronunciation as the word for death.  
Where will my world go? I watch its framework fall, but know not where it lands.   The vessel of wood carried my life upon it.
 Dear Straight Girls Stop wearing plaid Take off that checkered flannel Aand if I see you with those big “nerd” glasses on your face again I swear I will break them.
The Commute
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Cinnamon, Rosemary, Pepper, Nutmeg, Cloves, Aleppo Pepper, Ancho Powder, Cacao Powder, Carribean Spice My blood Runs with the Crucifixtion of those Diamonds and Minerals you wanted.  
Concocted some bonny memories fourteenth birthday o'thine.
Let them know that i said this Let them know i do not fear them any more Let them know  i am ready to fight them.   Be him Igbo Be him Yoruba Be him Hausa.
Looking in the mirror,
Self demarcation Is self deprivation After all it takes a dream To build up a nation Hesitation and contemplation It’s great to analyze but why are you waiting
Why is there more hatred than love Why do I not see help from above Why are we viewed as despicable punks  Why do they only put us in cuffs?   Why do I see a racial divide
The dirty South gets drunk on nights. Are we only made of sweet tea, shoot outs, and bar fights?   She slumps to the ground and hits the side of the old juke box -
  Step into their shoes Take a step, and a walk For you shall learn how they Could never talk   Those across the streets Thought differently To their defeat,
I am a human before I am American.  I am a human
Woman+man,woman+woman,man+man
Mike Brown, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner Who's next? Me?
Once upon their time, There lived an old witch. She was old, and wrinkled, White fuzz covered dark skinned-skull, Colorful cloths wrapped her As she walked her ways.   She helped the poor,
I stumble upon the shattered road The cries of war engulf me Debris, dust, smoke… where is our home? Piercing gun shots resonate near me
  I pledge allegiance To the flag I remember the day My best friend said “I think I might be gay”
You captured kings and warriors and now our bloodline fights back You underestimated the mystery and power behind those of us who are black You saw our strength and resilience and said “They’ll be fine to do our work”
World packed with cruel hate.  It’s written in their fate. What can the people do? The worst part—the revulsion isn’t new.
We want to see these black boys fly Cops rather see these black boys die Unarmed, non voilent, minding theirs
abird in the skyfell to die, yet a will to driveand  mind on restfell into a nestgod blessed! a new kind of test-with feathers, my strengthhis renewal
We are groups of people made to hate because of who we love not what we stand for. Did no one listen to  your parents? You treat others how you want to be treated not
What are we doing?....What have we become?   We’re just gang banging…   Lampin’: Hanging out under a street-light, on gangsta turf waitin’ for a Ghetto Star: A top street drug dealer
It angers me. It really makes my skin crawl. How people think they have the right to deny other people to express their love. I heard a joke once. It goes like this. A man walks into a Subway and orders his favorite sandwich.
MLK
Where a people fight for acceptance, one wanted to fight without his fists. He used his words to lead all in one philosophy: to sit amog the opression, you must not use violence.
You asked me to draw a line between white and black. White and black. White and black? What is that line? Here is the list we started: White is Good. Light. Truth.
I want to live in a world without hate Everyone who is muslim is not irate If God is love then why are there religious wars? The amount of fighting since ancient time soars
Society-society things never change. Race against race, dangerous people like hatred. Careless world, guns, girls guys violence-PAIN. When will it ever be change?  
Your hatred is unreasonable, unfathomable, and irrational. So why continue to say that name in place of my own? You are the NIGGER  The low-down and the dirty. The hatred.
I, the student, seized on a night of cold, Booked and found guilty, for reasons unknown. Immediately, my freedom was sold, Despite my friends' pleas, I was all alone.   Later, while I was brutally tested,
Questionin innocenceNeed tuh cleanse n replenish dis effed up conscience.Hoodie up, arizona n skittles in his pocketsSuspicionLife taken away for foolishness of self defense?
The burdens of this world resemble 
Adversity what does that word even mean Does anyone know? I think the last man to feel it
Drenched in pain and despair
A Meaning LostWe were the beating of drums, The beating of the sun against  The backs of our people. We were the red of river banks,  The green of grass, the trees, the leaves.
  We are a disjointed body, crippled by their oppressive strength; they strive by walking over us.   Our rights don't matter until the november polls;
We shall overcome one day, Are the words that the leaders use to say, God Let us have justice is what they'd pray, Please let the pain and suffering go away.   Now the people recite those words no longer,
Why? Why do we discriminate our own kind? It's a color in the publics eye.
I said I got to keep my head above water - James harden in OKC bring me off the clutch time in the 4th quarter - Its funny nowadays how people don’t want you to make - nothi
why is the media scary todayTwenty dudes got married and gaythe world viewed it as okayfor marriage i prayin our flesh we stay the blessed lamb we slayyou want to see my nigtmarestune in and turn on
I am an African, an African taken from my homeland and  brought into a place where I am known as being "inferior" Why was this happening? Do I not shed blood and cry as any other
When it is between white and color it's all over the news, But when its black against black it gets no views! This is normal just like sinners behind pews. How is the stench of dead boys on the streets nothing new?
Sometimes we forget that in this varied world Among the mix of backgrounds Ethnicities Languages Or whatever makes you stand out There are people like me Filling in the "White" box
America, land of opportunity  land of the free land of unity  and the lnd that holds the key. we all know we're American, But what does it mean ? Does it mean we're all white?
You would think by now Wait no, you should know by now I should leave Leave it all Wait, that just isn't right either Can I ask a question? I just did huh? And there I go again  S-C-H-O-O-L
My brother Make your legacy live in history The past of segregation lingers onto our present communities, And its comedy is somehow becoming our young brothers and sisters you see..
We as a people are capable of so much We must use each other as a clutch We as a people must rise to the majestic heights So we can fight this battle like a medieval knight  
I speak for the silence and against the harassment As I take you hand we will show the world How marriage is as free as the wind
He said he had a dream She said she wasn't going to move He said I'm for truth no matter who tells it They had a vision years beyond their time One that wouldn't submit people of color to a life of hardship
She walks on through the crowd. On through the hot air. On through the booming of her fear.   She follows, head down, one by one.
Made of Steele  made to clink together made to keep a race back foever ? made to seprate us and not bring us together. There seems like there's no sunny weather, cloudy skies and
Bulit up on a lie so how would  you expect us to survive ?! Clenched with chains like  a beast who can not be tamed  Not knowing that we where the First to be crowned king 
all around the world is in havoc death tolls are getting tragic nobody wanna work together standing out like the scarlett letter with A pain in my chest  I digress this hate emanates
Second Sunday of May my father brought my brother, mother, and I to our favorite breakfast place to celebrate the holiday. I was young, just five years old. My brother two years my elder.
Even prior to this movement, I have always hated those who seek equality. I abhor the thought of becoming one with animals that are filthy. Just why even bother fighting for their rights,
He was my age when he died, a boy who would now never grow up. I don't know what it's like to grow up hated and feared by simple minds and closed hearts. I don't know what it's like
I chose to be spat on in public.I chose to be called names.Fag. Dyke. Sinner. Abomination. Devil worshiper.Mistake.I chose to be hated by the ones I loved.I chose to be hated by the ones I trusted.
I sit here, thinking heavy My young brother, no intent of harming any Walking with a hood on is that a threat? But with his black skin many scream death Skittles, tea What harm could that be?
Black, white, red, yellow, Gunshots at night, in a Harlem ghetto, The frightening things that segregation brings, Racial hate messages sting and hurt everything, Lingering doubts even modern man pouts,
  Negritude… A conceptual ideology in the tenets of humanity A construed solidarity in a common black identity Abstruse in such arcane a concept?
The life of the innocent is taken by the sinner... They said "Black skin, wild hair, how could they not be barbaric? For these chains all men, now and future, will share it. No peace for man.
Rosa Parks A strong figure refusing to move. Why discriminate? She was the same as us as everyone. Love all people and all people will love back.
  There’s something called ignorance in the black community It replaces the love, care and the unity The power our race once possessed
Pretty girls dance across the room A parade of blonde hair, red hair, dark hair, light hair Sleek and shiny Bouncy and fluid  The kind of hair I dream about Girls bend and sway in the morning sun
Being gay? They say it's a crime. They say it's a birth defect. They say it will change over time.   I want to know who "they" are. I want to know what gives them this right.
Slaves, abuse, mistreatment, no love But still our ancestors looked at the man above Beatings, hard labor, being hurt like second nature Working day in and day out all day long
Who I love should not define who
I am as a person.Why can you love her, 
butI can’t?What evolutionary methods refuse to releaseme from this cycle.Where can I go for my rights should not be a question.
Sides are picked, muskets raised Grey and blue, wool blood stained The Union must stay intact, but Brother versus brother are being attacked In the end, all people are free
What happening to the world we live in... As we turn on the news, their goes a child killed by the offcials that are suppose to protect us.
We buy our sterotypes off of tv subconsciencely we feed our ignorance without a black face and watermelon red lips but with a pretty face and round ass we've become americas number one pupets our sistahs aunties and mothers have been degraded to o
The dream wasn’t to be accepted, but to be equal.I still dream not to see race, but to see people.We can’t imagine love with hearts full of hatredLove your enemies, even those who are racist.
Snap, Pop, Crack! There goes an elbow with one firm grasp. La la la watching those tears mixed in, Is water, blood, and all the hope plus determination flowing from that corpse
Asians can't drive, and Mexicans make trouble. You will get shot by a black man who will rob your home and steal your vehicle. All Mexican immigrants are illegal. Asians can't speak English to save their pathetic little lives.
A teenage girl cries in her bed "You're going to hell," the message read. Is it a sin to be in love? What makes you think you're that much above? Show me where in your holy book it reads
Look at me Do you see? Do you see me? I look no different than thee I am human too No different than you Making mistakes too Human through and through
The rumbling of the drums to the gathering of the clans are where we began. Mothers and fathers together as one uplifting their precious child. Culture, visions, and lives all destroyed
(poems goThere once was a time when freedom and equal rights were asked to ring Then along came two men by the names of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King… They were the voices for the voiceless and the fighters for the weak…
Who the hell made you queen? You have a comment on everything Never a smile, only a frown All you do is tear us down You only scream and yell Making a cheerleader's life a living hell
There are some who’d like to think that love comes in two breeds: Relevant and irrelevant. To them, only as a word love is singular. As an emotion, love comes in too many species,
(poems go here)
In the beginning, There was a God for all A fierce parent Loving and righteous. But men bent him In their own image- A lily-white God with blond hair Fair and beautiful And biased.
The gym is my Tabernacle, A place I long for, a place I seek. A safe haven from all the daily disgust. The gym is a war against my muscles, A place my sprit is freed,
One Voice
But I love him. Of course I do. I love him more than the world. But that isn't real love. No. My love is just a phase. A test of my parents will. Because why would i love him? I'm only a boy.
BOOM! Goes the sound of a bus backfiring As it leaves a stop with no passengers Once again The bus driver silently laments to himself And hopes the boycott will be over.
Shhhh! Do not you dare compare him to I! For he was not born within a skin that does not comply. I am beautiful, of this I have no doubt, But this is a fact, not a way to stand out.
I watch the depot shrink as we begin The sweat now starts to form behind my knees. The vinyl seats make patterns on my skin. I look outside and see the moving trees. We're doing the Lord's word indie this bus
If I was straight I wouldn’t be writing this damn thing If I was straight I wouldn’t need to hide my basic humans needs If I was straight would you still dehumanize me? Take away my rights and claim there “not meant to be”
Skin is nothing more than a covering for our bodies Complete with different shades and degrees Absolute black and white doesn't exist here
He didn't even know me. he passed me by like a river's torrent smoothly, he grumbled, "Nice shirt FAG!"
Days and days have went by still here I stand in this cold night telling you all about my misery yes, for this will all stay in history As our fathers and mothers fight for liberty
Days and days have went by still here I stand in this cold night telling you all about my miser yes, for this will all stay in history
Statements that stay behind closed doors, they stay in the room Hover above your head Seep into your mind fall into your river of thoughts Sink deep into your conscious Straying off to your emotions
He says he's replacing the Confederate Flag on his desktop With a picture of Me. I proceed to wonder if I should explain the irony of this, Or let him roll over comfortably in his quilted ignorance.
Fill my seams with lots of dreams Like Martin Luther King did Walk down avenues No need to be in school, at least not on this special holiday Because of that man That man there, we can do near anything
I am a girl who loves a girl And believes in the Bible too There’s a fight in my head It’s not a fight to the death It’s a fight to realize who Knows what it means to love. Man shall not lay with man
Your skin ugh. So black so filthy, murky. But did I ask you your opinion? Your assurance that my skin is any less than what I'm assured it is? Oh No!
I don't always know the right thing to say, But I feel inclined to speak out anyway To define the one thing that can never be understood Is the real sin: rooting out love where it lay. And we keep pressing on
Gazing off into space with her deep brown eyes Pleading for someone to notice All the sorrow she hides Deep in her heart Only knowing that tears are not enough All her memory’s flow out of her mind
We who believe in freedom still can't rest, Cause we who believe in freedom can not rest until it comes.
Like the earth beneath a popular tree, life is shaded. The existence of knowledge stands firm and strong, yet, some and many cease to acknowledge the light peeking through its leaves.
No no no; don't look at me so.
I am Too Blind in the light Too fresh, too hood, too...Ghetto World uses me like a puppet; Geppeto African Americans need to Stop, and think We want to see the Intellectual abilities you can bring,
We are perpetually, habitually tip-toeing through life always struggling and grappling with is this wrong or is this right? They all force us to whisper when our instinct is to cry, to cry out at Injustice
The attachment of two souls Waking up in the morning Impressions in the mattress Coffee in the hands and kids at the table Marriage isn’t a requirement To love But you want it You deserve it
Hey, you! Me? Me who? Me with the glasses? Me who is short? Me who is heavy? Me with soft, clear skin? Me with tea-streaked skin? Me with milk-brown eyes? Me with dark, vancant eyes?
It’s his in and her out. He loves a boy, and knows That should his love be shown His own home would become A place of disgrace Claiming to never have known The face of his heart.
I'm what?!? Oh you say i'm weird as in erie, different, or abnormal, right? Does it bother you.... you know, that i'm not like you or your crew Am i offending you? Well sorry to hear that!
"Inspiration" I laugh, cry and think smile-I feel it now.. Inspiration here to play a role Flipped on like the light switch of my soul.
We are all one but we live as if divided we share the same pain and shed blood for what we belive in Yes we all have issues but let us not incorporate that into violence.
Dear Jordan Davis, When you felt 8 foreign metals scratch its way through your chest, did it drown out the music?
All I ever wanted was to be beautiful. Like new mothers, like flickering candles in dark rooms like flowers pressed into books like new shoes...
The Light that comes when they finally see a figment becoming reality. The Shadows that once existed in the outskirts of their mind, resides in their hands. The Inspiration
It seems like a dream, I wasn't there, for something that changed life, We worked and worked as a team, We fought and we fight,
We live in a land, supposedly free. Good men died for you and me. WE can live our life, to pursue our dream. Unattainable to others not for my brothers. If you're gay, black, or anything else;
No surgery Lost limbs Give a leg Then ask of him, Restore my sight With nothing to hide
Choose Between Hate or love WHITE OR BLACK Wrong or right Parents or soul mate Holding back or holding hands Being ashamed or being proud Seeing skin or seeing soul
I am not dark skin. I am the sound of deep cognition. I am the voice of thought-provoking composition. So, if you feel like you are fiending just to stay and listen;
Intelligence used to be a virtue, Ignorance used to hurt you, But in the past few decades the roles have reversed . . . I though about rhyming but now it's a free-verse,
attacked, chained and forced on ships brought to a land to face hardships there is a light shining above us illuminating our many shadeds of brown unique souls and great minds that shaped
A Canvas of White
I'm known to be a dreamer, It's my way of sanctuary but surrounded by closed minds, Made me less a believer I am a dreamer, but darkness shrouds me Storms my mind until my memory Is washed away
Here I dissociate, alone in awe I am taught I see what the silence has tried to show me all along occasionally blinded by intent of the selfish sort I can never truly understand until I learn to dissolve
Piercing eyes glare at unfamiliar faces Awaiting rejection So use to backs being turned, hearts being broken There's rejection. Unrevealed truths, broken promises
I watched a lady full of age Walk slowly down the sidewalk She walked as though there was pain in each step And I admired her determination She could have easily squeezed sympathy From anyone that she meet
On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.
Pour her feet in emerald flames Place her hands in ruby grains They pulled his brain from the southern swamp Clenched to a tree. They poured their golden bleeds on his palms The flares on his jeans sing to them.
Nigger, to me, sounds like nooses and hangings. It sounds like, "Whites Only," and "No Coloreds Allowed." It sounds like, "we shall overcome" marches - like overcoming was the only thing my people knew how to do.
Industrial Revolution Builds on her the loneliest right. Liberty has occupation, Though she's victim of Mans' old rite.
They call us blacks not only because of the color of our skin, but because...once upon a time, we were like shadows. Black shadows that trailed behind white bodies. Afraid, and hidden.
Her hair in neat braids, her frock a stainless white Gazing at the wispy clouds that curl against a cerulean sky She approaches the white picket fence and waves hello— It is 1956.
They shuffle up the stairs In a line like prisoners Their heads hung low As they walk in a single row. “To the back of the bus,” he says. But they already know,
The revolution was not televised. It will not be found in a tweet or an updated status. But do you know your status, the rights that our ancestors longed for, fought for and dreamed for?
A test A simple test God created man in his image A creature filled with life Blood flowing and A heart beating  Each being unique Outside and in The beauty of humanity Always new
Everything used to be so black and white Suits that men wore, the color on a T.V. screen, The photographs that took hours to print. But so were the beliefs of our countrymen. It was either black or white—no gray area.
At the beginning there was no love, Only hate, But from one man, a brave man, Layed our society’s fate. There was sadness and despair, And enough hatred to kill,
Let’s Go Back!! Let’s Go Back, back in time, where we began to rhyme Singing hymns to kill times, of inequality, let’s go back where we loved each other while marching for justice
They say choose your battles carefully, but our side of the starting line was chosen for us. Pick by some biased hand in advance, with no perspective for the past or future. We were held hostage in the present with no escape but survival itself.
(Civil Rights make it possible for me to attend this school...thanks... to go learn and make better life to marry a red blue green or black wife I don't know Now I can see me and her See him and her and them
She was Born to be Judged Judged to be Born, She inspired those of her color, Those of her class, Those of her gender, To be something more, To defy what people thought of her,
This poem IS Gay And not just in a childish and perjorative way Cuz in a world where life is counted by the days Who's willing to spend one standing up for what America - portrays
After the storm comes the rainbow, Vivacious colors splitting the grey. After the clouds shines the sun, Shining light through the tears of the sky. Storms are alive, in you, in me, in the world.
It would’ve been an honor to be a Freedom Rider To be able to fulfill my desire To sacrifice my life for a change For the exchange Of a better tomorrow
I have the right to school I have the right to live my way You have no say I have the right to speak Thats my rule To live everyday I have rights
Who do you think you are playing God and deciding our destinies planting unnecessary scars claiming our rights are but fantasies?
Daddy's best friend liked boys My's friend Jeff had a boyfriend And that was fine, I loved them both My friends were equal No color, no social class, or inequality Just friends
Here we are Here we stand We are living out God's own plan We are the children of the dream I don't need another new year to start a change I am a change
One man willing to stand up for his rights, one woman willing to fight, A man who has a dream for equality in the nation, The woman on the bus encountering frustration,
A thirty-mile thick crystalline wall Shrouding all sight like a bride’s lacy shawl We chisel and chip at its translucent sides Revealing, bit-by-bit, it slowly confides The secret of perpetual motion
The school from which Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. received his doctorate, Boston University, is, as its name implies, located in Boston, Massachusetts. This city is located in liberal New England.
(poems go Love, a feeling, a sentiment, a knowledge.... I love her. Her scent. Her feel. Her touch..... She awakens me, and frightens me, as she lies next to me. My hand through her her hair.
I have many scars, most you can see. Like the one on my shoulder or the one on my knee. But the ones you can't see, hurt most of all. You can't get one of them from just a fall. But by seeing family crying,
Is a picture a picture if it's all just white? It’s just a blank canvas, that isn't right, Just sitting there, alone, without any life, And it sure ain't worth no pretty price.
(Devin strolled in the house open the door to let in his buddies and the cold “Hey nigga’ , this sandwhich grows mold.” Devin replied quite bold, “Nigga’ please, I bought it yesterday.”
I’m sitting in the front and looking back. The driver yells, Turning innocent faces to stone. Soft graphite transformed into stoic onyx. I see it. But I stay seated and silent. They rise and leave,
My splattered blood dries over the newly cemented pavement where my head collided, after my back got soaked and bruised from the fire hydrant cause I'm fighting the tyrant of segregation. You can crush
I am stricken with the paint of bigots, Cast in the colors they throw on me. I am mulatto, all coffee and cream. But when I am looked at, not seen, but looked at,
It is their mission, To gleefully condition, Our fine nation, To hate a station, no lower than themselves.
Together as one we stand The smell of equality is so sweet Together as one we stand Our thirst for freedom cannot be beat
One man had a dream That dream asked us to put our preducies behind us That one dream asked every person, balck or white to join hands and look past the obvious differences
The silence before a victory in equality parallels the silence after: it is alighted by those who barter their carved flesh for candle wax, Set afire for an enduring thread. A strand that interweaves the disgraces of the
What’s the meaning of pursuit of happiness when I can barely exist When I’m treated like a quarantine disease When they’re waiting for the next headline to pronounce “New cure for the ‘Adam and Steve’ & the ‘Madam and Eve’”
I stand amid the encroaching walls that bind my soul to perish among the dull unknown of confinement.
I ain't done nothing to you I ain't even looked at you funny All I ever done is be me and all you ever done is Hate me
Teach them about the past so they won't be ignorant.
The simple air of a whistle. Clean outside air, sweet perfume, cigarette smoke From the usual porch sitters Outside Bryant’s grocery store.
Nana tells me, ‘White people pale ‘cause all they kindness been drained outta ‘em.’ Shushin’ her with the harshness of a kettle at boil, Is Mama, Scolding her for fibbin’ to me. Grunting irritation,
My father will never understand the constant frustration that runs through my mind when I think to chase him. To run after the man who has my heart but it's an abomination
Why does the mockingbird sing? Why does she lift her head to die? Is it the color of her wings? Or is it the passion in her cry?
Today is the day for change, Eyes up, Signs high, Voices loud, Jim Crowe has no hold anymore, Chains are crumbling, This is a revolution, We are more than 3/5 of a man, We are human,
All men are created equal despite of race, religion, or gender This is what the nation was built on and what we must continue to believe in
A beautiful black girl with innocent young brown eyes And she gazes up at me
Birds have beautiful colors. Their feathers of red and blue and golden yellow ruffle together against the sky.
The words on the signs and the threat of the whites are what keep us out. Stuck in a dilemma: do we keep our heads down and go on with our unfair lives accepting what is reality,
Bloodshed, yelling and screaming in a world in which I took my stance All I got was an undesirable glance I didn't apologize for the need for equality So I proceeded in my seat in a world shaken without harmony
Let me break into your thoughts, I’m a mindbomb, ticking time bomb. Seven years I wore the the veil shielded myself and kept pale news shunned like yesterday’s mail happier than my previous trail
The harmonious step Like Ants—Strong in Numbers Like Tributaries Leading to a River Starts with a trickle, Becomes a Flood Overflow of Hope, Love, and Faith A Faith in the Human Spirit A Faith of Humanity
A boy sits alone in his closet. Enmity splattered walls. His heart, so open to love, is beginning to wither and fall. But what, I should think, makes him live in these walls, is a secret to me,
Speaking, Acting, Learning, On misogyny and bigotry, Stepping up and sharing stories, Personal experiences and opinions, Everyone is not equal, We're still in a place of hate.
We live in a world that has been teeming with hate, Our ancestors have endured much pain and hate, Our ancestors have inflicted pain as well, We live in a world, in which we have no appreciation,
I have lost my voice in the crowd of thousands from the top of my lungs I screamed down from the mountains my vocal cords ache from the shouting in the streets chanting and yelling for the rights of my people
I guess I was half-expecting the sound of fingernails to fill the room, but I decided to let myself drown in the silence sink to the bottom until looking up was my last option.
Bars, the social norm Keeping us in, keeping them out When will it end This nasty game they’re playing? But we wont back down, no The blood fueling our bodies with oxygen Is the same. We all feel the pain.
Under protection of our own, government was created to dethrown. As a people, we chose to vote. "Majority rule!" the people quote. Soon, people debated, hated and fell into moral confusion.
I am bound to my chain Never to be set free The state of my confinement is one that is definite A constant reminder that ensures my inhibition
The bus is hot as it rolls, and with the number of bodies is Sticky air and sweat-wet seats and the raw smell of humans. We are the freedom riders, the Beaten at bus stops and booed as we walk.
The cage is open But not to free me. To free me from the bonds That once held my cellmate Whom I expect now runs Far away from the hate
She was a Rose A beautiful, brown Rose She stepped up on the bus of separation She sat down, for our freedoms She rode the mistreated waves of segregation She quietly refused, for our people
I have a nightmare. Twoscore and ten years ago, Mr. King helped revolutionize our country. Equality for all, he said. No black, no white, no yellow, no red. Equality. Shades of gray given what they deserve.
Sweat and blood cradle it, It’s the mothers old hands that Wove its breath. High above myself and earth, I can see freedom slowly drifting Across towering mountains and dark Clouds.
Separate Has never been And never will be Equal. Paging through the textbooks of history and time The white, clean pages Have been bleached of any color. Black history relegated
Blinking sweat from his eyes, His heart is on the verge of defunct, Light irises face his. Wild with fear, His stomach solidifies like rime.
Who are we, Nothing but the minorities. All you give us is blame for all the wrong you see. You say we take your jobs, You say we kill your children, You say we are a disgrace to this country.
Wake me up, when the days of suffering and pain are over. Wake me up, when I can walk amongst others with out recieving a cold shoulder. Being different, with my face, color, and shape. Being different,
I don’t mean to discredit them We give credit where credit is due But there is much more to do This is not just a race This is a relay
How proud I am. It shapes me In more ways than I'm fully aware; To know my Grandmother Marched. Among thousands, In a tide of dark skin. The only white woman; The only white skin.
The world is cold The unknown cuss at the unknown While heads get blown Summoning all my people, we discuss the harms created by Obama's throne The change still isn't shown I'm torn between college
"Freedom for women!" they shout These feminists few But how can they not see that she's a feminist, too? So many spaces are unsafe black children are shot little girls are raped young women are beaten
Who Are We? We build our own lives and souls We are unique and separate But how do we think for ourselves When society guides us
This is me, this is who I am. This is my life, this is my business. I respect you, and I respect your choices. Respect mine.
Blind in the eyes of god is the color of our skin And who said you were in charge of deciding where I eat, drink, watch a movie, sit on a bus? You think we’re dif-fer-rent but we’re all-the-same
There is a path just found behind the school Rumors say what happened there was very, very cruel I go to see the famous place And find footsteps at the base I follow it and hear a crack
One. You mock me, shame me, spit on me; You deny my humanity and curse me. You cannot see past my dark hue. Two. You mock Him who made me By burning that cross on my lawn.
How would you feel walking down the street? Minding your own business just being a teen When a group of people behind you come to attack Only because in their eyes you’re a “fag”
African Americans rallied for their rights African Americans put up a fight Discrimination was all around No nice words between races were found
I am blessed To have been born Inside a place Previously torn But now repaired With the thinnest thread I remember this As I go to bed
What they were called… Negroes. Stupid. Ignorant. Less-than. Inadequate. Niggers. What they really were… Citizens. People. Mothers. Children. Husbands. Workers. Human-beings. What they endured…
Represent The palm of my hands is the palm of yours Represent They represent these United State shores Comes the tall ‘n mighty stovepipe hat One of the world’s greatest diplomat
A month after I was born, in 1955, Mother told me Of the beginning of the bus boycott Because a woman of color Refused to give up her seat To a white man. And that was the year
Inside it controls. Inside rage. Inside pain. Inside bursts of tears. Silence. It hides in the chaos-filled voices that live in life. See the girl who sits and cries.
accusations against innocents crime against the colored fear, disgust, seclusion we take one step forward little by little were pushed two steps back continue to push continue to fight
George Wallace and Rosa Parks, Light is light, and dark is dark. Each coexisted in the creation day, But, oh, how far we seem to stray; Why must the differences now be so stark?
A movement defined by endurance and freedom that gives the heart motive
We will not be silenced, the silence is broken by the symbolism within the signs we raise and the hymns we quietly hum.
Black or white, colors fade to gray, we stand together, United as one, nothing can break determination, no one can stop our stride, equality is one small step,
This White American conscious superior, benevolent, controlling our future White heart, white mind, white hands shape us, for better or worse How can we not be flawed?
Two little ones hand in hand running In the bright golden morning over Washington. Their counterparts dancing in the Pool of Reflection They were leaping and wheeling in the calm morning sun.
I stand for the people who walked down the street for equality. Dr. King said it best in his “I Have a Dream” speech. I stand for the kids who were pushed to the back of bus
Abraham Lincoln was the author of the Emancipation Proclamation and the 16th president of the United States Martin Luther King Jr was an inspiration and the leader of the civil rights movement
The Civil War is 19th century news Only talk about it in history when my brain is on a cruise See the Civil Rights Movement ended years ago And there’s just no more desire to know
Luke and Emily and Zoe and John, and Josh and Mira and Rabia, and Jane, Rose, Mary, Helen and Radha, and Jyoti, Michelle, Cait, and Brittany, and Tyrone and Jenny and Lalainee, and Matt and Ellie,
Well, it seems we have a bit of a problem We've stuck ourselves in the exact same situation That we put ourselves in 50 years ago It took until 1967 for our entire country to come to our senses
If it wasn't for the magic when this universe was born- the gravity that held it down the sun that kept it warm
Racism why is it even here all it does is bring us tears Whatever happen to a world of peace its time we bring a new life lease We stand in unity to raise hope so that we may live in a place of harmony
Isn't it ironic that the same person responsible for bringing you into this world had to fight years of oppression in order to have a say in your future?
We Stand as One Walking the streets to feel complete No more segregation We have now formed a whole nation With a man that had a dream That lead the movement to be free We stand as one.
Flawless sun kissed skin In infinite shades of brown. Beauty Sculpted by God Crafted in his favor.
man and man will in a few passing days become one flesh
Did the end of inequality start in Vermont in 1777 or Did it start in at the end of the first month in 1865. Can we put a date to the day when people realized civil disobedience was
Black boy (Hook) Last night Night before 24 robbers at my door I got up and let em in Hit em in the head with a rolling pin
I tack a portrait of you to the classroom wall --You-- Gorgeously lit in the the frame of a window Appear in the grays and blacks and whites of the photograph Peering questioningly at all who view You.
So is that who I am? To be stereotyped just from my interest. Is that who I am? The one who's labeled just for being me.
A great man once said:
Rosa Parks. Malcolm X. Dr. King. Jesse Jackson. Mamie Mobley. Tears shed, blood spilled, injustice fought. But for what?
We the people By the people For the people
I look at my arm and see glowing amber skin Bright green eyes, curvy figure, long hair and thin lips Anyone can see that I am mixed within
It is the year 1896, And a black child born In rural Louisiana Sometime in 1865 Has just had her Thirty-first birthday. She should be happy-- Her newborn babe Is healthy and although
Scenes are shooting down a block of neighborhood A moving busy streets Acts are striked every passing hours of streaming light -some acts are cut out and some kept
Martin Luther King Junior had a dream For all people to be treated fair In order to rid the world of despair It was a part of the grander scheme To fill the world with utter esteem
I'm glad that we're diverse, with all these different traces. I look around my class, and I see different faces. I walk around the school, and there are different races. If not for MLK then all this would not be.
A black panther Hides in the Concrete jungle. The water Washes away The dirt, the blood, And the words. But water can't Wash away the pain.
There goes that ribbon floating through the air. Her dress flowing in the breeze. She's curious, she wants to go, no violence does she see. "No, my child, you must stay here. For surely that's not for you.
To sit back and watch That is not how I do it I stand up and say aloud I am who I am A gay man I do not hide anymore I do not let words define who I am I stand amongst the crowd
To sit back and watch That is not how I do it I stand up and say aloud I am who I am A gay man I do not hide anymore I do not let words define who I am I stand amongst the crowd
Sitting in a seat not accepting defeat Rosa Parks took a stand Speaking for the press and being laid to rest Martin Luther King Jr. paid the ultimate price
They want to badmind me because I’m a sodomite Everyone else, they try to backbite Creeping up, out of the light I will not fight with guns or dynamite.
Did the movement really end? The feelings, tensions, all amend? Or does separation still exist? Hatred and doubt with a twist? The current world presents ignorance, Prevalent distrust, shouting for guidance.
Did the movement really end? The feelings, tensions, all amend? Or does separation still exist? Hatred and doubt with a twist? The current world presents ignorance, Prevalent distrust, shouting for guidance.
We washed upon the shores And traveled in rivulets through the veins of a nation. We filled her cracks and hollows And saturated what was parched and wanting.
August 23rd, 1963 Sweat dripping on the late summer afternoon 250,000 people of all color United, as one Witnessing the new beginning Walking together Without facebook, and internet
People A head, a heart, a body, a soul Working, breathing, loving, hating Brothers and sisters Created as equals With only small differences We live, we love, We take part in others lives
The bus windows lets me stare at all those people that give no care. Why should I stand when I pay the same fare? We live here too, it's not your lair.
Brave hands of all shape, color, age, and size intertwine to form links of hope and light. Thousands saying, “Brother, sister, RISE, RISE! Stand for equality and join the fight!” But instead of easy victory,
With silence, we took our beating, harsh cracks and whips replaced with slurs and snide remarks. We stand in protest, holding hands in unity while they their voices carry-- sharp barks.
When you see a rainbow after a storm You can’t escape it It illuminates there in the sky for all to see Each color together in perfect harmony Now what would a rainbow be
Documentation without Emancipation
I sit at your table and order a shake I am not hungry for anything, save justice. My stomach aches for an acknowledgement of my humanity an ounce of compassion
Here is a man Proud and strong black Here is the Law Strict and harsh White Here is the school Whites only Fair Here is Oliver Brown Stop this Please
I am an African American, Truth Be Told. Riding in a car in a nice neighborhood on my way home, Truth Be Told. Stopped, harassed, frightened by the local police because I was in a "suspicous" car, Truth Be Told.
Crowding the streets Boycotting the bus Any action that could draw attention to us We will do it rushed To try and budge out of this rut
Ever since I came out the womb, they said it was power to the people But what power do you have when you aren't allowed to speak back when being speaked to We've spoken, the world has been broken
What it was like, to not be that of a white. The pain, humiliation and suffering and still ending up with nothing but the blaming. To be that of a different color, like we had some kind of special armor
Hate Me Judge Me Threaten Me Beat Me Lessen Me Fear Me You’ve never known me
Steinmen, Rosa, MLK The preachers and poets, championing a new era Heroes far beyond their years Instilled with wisdom They cried blood and sweat and tears and pain And still they kept up the fight
At first just yelling. Spiteful cries, Words like cleavers, Got under her fingernails, and the mahogany skin on her cheeks. And then the stones came, an ambush, penetrating deeper
Free at last, free at last! Thank God almighty, we are free at last! That’s what I want to say But it’s not the truth I mean the whole truth Civil Rights More than Dr. King Rosa Parks Malcolm X
African American did not have rights All of them suffered from the lies Until Martin Luther king Jr wasn't afraid of heights He stood up and put his foot down on there civil rights.
The story of then, The story of now, and then the story yet to be unveiled:
Tap-tap. Tap-tap. Tap-tap. Yes I am angry. But you wouldn't know. Staring down at the floor, how could anyone tell? I clench my fists. Tap my foot. I smile. I say "yes, sir" and "yes, ma'am."
We shall overcome.... We shall overcome....
What did they fight for, Those brave souls marching in the streets? They wanted equality and justice, These two freedoms guaranteed. Facing power and gunfire during their fight
Let's think a minute about the things that won't ever leave: life yourself your right to happiness If it's not good, it's bad, and if it's not right, it's wrong.
One heart, one mind All of our fates, intertwined Campaigns, rallies all for one cause Because we as a nation, belong under God Who made man in his own image Gave us the power to make our decisions
It is 1960 and there are two drinking fountains. Colored on the left, white on the right. A young black girl shuffles her feet forward slowly in line. They drag along the dirt and make lines in the ground.
I am pale as the moon in a sky of darkness White against the shadows of the night His skin is dark like a moonless sky But his spirit is forever bright
Freedom IS costly Costly? The lives that were Volunteered, made freedom costly The lives that were damaged beyond Repair, made freedom costly The urge to hold the family Dear, made freedom costly
When all we could see was black and white those memories we all hold onto so tight for those people that nothing could ever go right you're struggles were worth it
IN THE 1960’S WE HAD OUR SAY BUT DID WE REALLY PAVE THE WAY? WHO ARE YOU? BLACK OR WHITE? CAN WE PASS THROUGH THE NIGHT? IS IT REALLY OUR RIGHT! WHO ARE THOSE MEN THAT RIDE THROUGH THE NIGHT?
They march and march, but not without a reason. With no guns or knives, but they're still accused of treason. Signs in their hands, begging for a change. Visions in their heads of better days.
My Brother and I will fight. By: J.A. Palluconi I see through his eyes and into his soul. I then look at mine. I hear his cry for what’s right and for what’s been lost. I then hear mine.
All men are equal, Easier said than done. Always thinking you’re just the same as everyone else, Then being told you’re different.
Nobody gone hold me down I am a man and constantly getting put down In this world I am surrounded by hate You take one look at me and discriminate Paying me the lowest of the lows
Hands planted on her lap, looking at the wrinkles Reminds her of the days she spent on her knees Watching the houses and the trees Looking so young but feeling so old She does her daily do’s Stirring and pouring
Standing alone on the corner Listening, waiting, hoping The message, loud and clear But everyone else refuses to hear All created equal they claim But their actions don’t match the words they say
I am not just a number for you to process I have feelings. Nothing you say can change how I feel. Just because you think you can shut me up with words hate violence secrets
Why did they do it? What was truly in their hearts? Why did it become the norm? Many questions still linger about “why” Why any man would discriminate another Why one man couldn’t be equal to another
It was on an icy morning when I hurried back inside -- To grab my coat and money -- Then I scurried back outside.
Why you so surprised? You thought change was gonna come But let me explain something to you History repeats itself And it’s just a matter of time Before you’re back in the fields.
America, the land of the free to act out And always stay free
Why am I so different? Confused by the color of my skin, I am ashamed. Though He says we should love everyone, but one does not love me. I am in pain.
It is said to "not judge a book by its cover", Mama's advice. Yet I am judged. Justified by society and immense disparity.
Every color in every nation Let me enlighten you my friends And share some inspiration Opression on these streets were'nt built to last Not every single person had the mind to grasp
Who are they to judge me? Who are they to conspire against me? The KKK, no shame, despising me and laughing in my face.
Many have forgot what happened Going day to day living like nothing ever happened Failing to remember what sacrifices where made So that we could use the same fountain as someone of different pigment
Opression hits hard My spirit holds up with strength Hopes high for freedom
I had a dream Where a world was free It never mattered who you are but what you will become I am fighting for a dream where I can be free It doesn't matter who I am Just what I want to become
His is Malcolm X, and it all started when;
Martin Luther King had a dream For his people to be freed To be able to walk into any place And be looked at beyond just race It wasn't easy but it was worth the chase Setting the groundwork for every other race
I walked miles to school every morning, past the closed doors of the all-white school. Dirt clouds ruined my clothes and my shoes became worn and my hair mangled.
Slavery is equal Revenge is justice Life or death Where’s our breath We run on feet We curse with tongues Hateful words we spray Vengeance we play
Not long ago were the days of the Divide of unconscionable prejudice and senseless hate.
The buildings echo with the chant of our drums The voice of our people, the cries of our sons And the buildings are home to us, through thick and thin And decades, scores, centuries in
Civil Rights, an act to be free i look to my left i look to my right all around segregation i see Disrespect, treated like nothing Segregation, separated & unequal
Years ago a flame was lit, a world divided, all people split. Moves were made by those daring few, some from bus seats, some from a pew. A line that divided was intentionally crossed,
You're a strong young woman. You know you are. He's just some jerk in class that always has to have the last say. But there's something about his wit and attitude that you like. You know it's dangerous.
DISCRIMINATION, that is a word that sliced deep into the hearts of many, pouring out the blood flow of confusion and a sense of deception. Just because my skin is brown and hers right beside me is white, we're different?
Looking down from heaven the angels sing Black men, white men let freedom ring From the north to the south to the east to the west To the rich to the poor to the wise to the blessed
You know what’s hard about civil rights? I’m the white male juvenile discussing it Can you put that picture together? I’m blamed for the mistakes of people I never knew I get it
Those eyes we see We walk down the isle All I can have is a simple smile I know all the hostility we create It does no matter I still have her All LGBTYQ We All Love You.
I was raised to hate the black man, To spit as he passed me in the street. I was raised to hate his wife, too, The woman I never thought to meet.
For hundreds of years the black man has been crying with inner tears, striped from his manly dignity and identity, his self love has been ripped.
Who should define my race? Is it the man who auctions my ancestor from a stand and then lynch’s them on poisoned land. Who should define my race? Is it the person who label’s us because of the color of our face.
The Black man stands strong on the slave block being ridiculed and torched similar to King Jesus.
Living in the forlorn world of slavery, being discriminated against by some of the white race- due to my colored face.
Because of the pigment of my skin, they do not see me Since I am "different", I am separated And although they give many reasons I know that it is not because of My hair, or the way I dress, but
Yell at me, throw stuff at me I am allowed here Don't point over there Just because a word separates us We are the same
I didn't have any friends in school. I was quiet. And shy.
I was wondering if I could hold your hand, take you back to when they said I can't. Can I show you what my people have been through? Can I take you to a place I feel I've been to? Or would you rather not see,
Like crayons are only colors our skin is too. We should all be equal shades to the human sight, but fighting over colors is a destructive thing to do.
(something I never envisaged in a sticky Catholic school classroom of stifled Central Illinois, tracing the hate contorted face of Hazel Bryan with my finger, on page 157 of my “The Americans” textbook and thinking,
The sun began to set as little Johnny trudged on three hours ago he found out that his mother was gone. Dead by water maybe dog or cane but all johnny knew is they didnt even know her name.
Extra! A boy yells from the sidewalk Handing out factual ink In exchange for a dime. Extra! "Black Man Sent to Prison." Intellectuals are confused. He committed no crime. Extra!
Hit the mirror - watch it shatter Not liking what you see Blood running down your arm Oozing like your broken heart - Empty inside - no friends outside Why even bother trying
Roses are Red Violets are blue Martain Luther King lead a march on Washington and changed civil rights forever and so can you.
Executive Order for no order, Was a citizen now, an enemy all after a day that lives in infamy, Hawaii, California, West Coast, no longer. so called just desserts, in the desert
Civil rights... Civil rights? Civil rights, what is this? When people say civil rights Do they know what it means? Do they know-it's the fight, strife, sacrifice For Equality?
When Obama won they said it’s over. He won. He’s in. I say no. One triumph does not erase past sin.
Rain Oh, temporal rain, why must your cloud our days and future so far from near is it hatred this unending vicissitude of yours I fear First you start, and then you stop plip plop plip plop
We live in a place Filled with promises That are disgraced Where some are privileged and others oppressed While our ignorance continues This disgrace Land of equality Bull shit I say
Come on down and have a Coke for a bit Let me tell you a story here as you sit: A story of courage and of changing the world Just by not listening to another man’s word.
The pen has hit the paper, the paper has been passed saying in the United States of America, slavery no longer lasts.
My Bones Ache My Hairs Grey My Pride is Gone Can I Rest Now? You Ask For My Seat I Say No My Hands Are Cuffed Can I Rest Now? We fight For Whats Right Boycotting Transportation
When February rolls around, I think of all of them. The brave strong men and women, who fought for my freedom. Not just Martin and Rosa, Little Rock too, But all those unsung heroes, just like me and you.
As we are black , we tend to be underestimated as we fought for our rights they couldn't hold us back
Our forefathers bled for us. They took the pain of being different away. They fought against the stubborn who would never allow black people to have rights.
They say we are equal. Why the bullying? Do you think it's fun? Is it satisfying? The way you treat them? They say we are equal.
We take for granted the freedoms we have The biggest freedom of all to some Are civil rights and liberty African Americans will stand on my behalf. We often do not look back at the past as if we were there
Who gave you the right to take away mine? Who gave you the right to tell me where to sit To eat To go to the bathroom And even drink some water
Can you imagine what it's like to struggle? To be confined to a suffocating bubble. To not be able to live peacefully and equally with man Or be condemned because of your love of man. We are taught that we are one.
Holding hands is not an easy thing to do. It’s nerve-racking for the timid, and even more so for the different.
They say I’ve got dirty tears, The ones that run down my face are not the same, The blood I bleed is much too dark My bruises far too faint, And I’ve got dirty tears Don’t get me started about my skin
This sistah would like to say That finally Revolution is on its way Dig, my People? Just as the "New Negro" replaced the "Coloreds" Black is replacing the "New Negro" Shoot,
Sweltering day Solution: ice cream Fell into unwanted trouble Pain splattering across my back Anger biting my arm I hear laughing Nothing is funny
My rights are my rights/ got infinite time to put up a fight/ going through the system/ listen to your mther respect your father/ dont speak out/ dont stand tall/ fit the mold of the kid that will work till they get to old/ my dream job unattain
Across the Internet Far and wide, There are many flame wars You can find About this topic (So taboo!) Same-sex "marriage," And "unions," too.
The pain they felt I cannot imagine They fought for rights With such great passion They fought for right With all their strength They fought to be equal To fight this hate The fight for rights
The pain they felt I cannot imagine They fought for rights With such great passion They fought for right With all their strength They fought to be equal To fight this hate The fight for rights
It isn't fair. It shouldn't matter what color your skin or hair. It's a type of insanity, a crime against humanity.
They stand tall, They stand proud, Sadly they fall, Within a big crowd, On that day in ’65, In that month of March, We watch as some die, In the midst of a march
If that mysterious man of old awoke What tales would he tell? If that mysterious man of old awoke What praise would he sell?
Growing up, all I ever heard was how the "white man" would keep us down. How all they ever wanted to do was see me frown. How I was suppose to accept this as life truth and never enjoy the fruits of my youth.
Yesterday African Americans didn't have rights Yesterday a white man standing up for a black man was wrong Yesterday slaves were shipped across a ocean of pain only to be greeted by a lifetime of suffering
I left the Home, a shabby lumbering shack, Taking only the clothes on my back And the chime of Symmetrical thoughts, And walking with Ambitious steps, Trampling the Dirty paths, and
In a time of hardship, Many fear the fight, Many face the fight, Going day by day struggling, Many face the fight, Trying to ignore the ignorant people, Many face the fight,
I love my civil rights, It helps to keep state laws tight. The 13, 14, and 15th amendment, How dare you try to suspend it! It protected my heritage race, Guaranteed freedom in any place
Behold an August day a flock of black ravens flew their way to freedom. What else is in the air? A flock of white falcons flying in pairs with the ravens.
How do you describe my skin? Do you only describe me as light skinned? Do you not see the pain and scars that are visible to the surface? I know I'm not perfect... I'm different My skin is my shield hiding all the, pain, sorrow, the quilt?
A whistle to myself, I whistled a song, A song about a woman, frightened by the black night, frightened by what she don't understand, she calls upon the daylight, and then it comes,
All races equal. Black or white, we all must fight, Because it is right.
Many a man has lived that has given his life for another. Not many a person, though, who has changed the world forever.
whispering wind will pass the booming thunder will overpass your voice will shutter and ever-last but i wonder who will hear it make souls shiver at your voice to hear the goodness of men
Through my eyes, I see warriors, fighting for battles in unity. Fighting for color, fighting for peace, and for rightful humanity. No guns, no knives, just armed with souls that weep for equality;
This is the public, right? Than why shall I be set aside. This is wrong, we will fight! We just want to eat. We all need to care. So here is where we’ll sit, Until we’re treated fair.
The weight of history is what we carry everyday. Like ankle weights that shackle us to an antiquity we never lived. Past Unlived shared experiences that we know all too well.
Sometimes we go through tough times To expose peoples true sides Sometimes we go through calamity To bring together two or three to love and forgive To inspire and change And move past the here and now
Shouts in the streets again My pulse wakes from its slumber With all risings, it says "amen" Oh Lord, just let me get home to feed my kids
Can you hear them as they sing? The whispers of the wind? Can't you hear them, And their song? Wanting him again? They seek the one, The truth he brought, The truth of which we've lost.
How do I repay the deeds done by the civil rights leaders of the bonded past? How do I shine light on the dull, average people who became heroes by taking a chance?
Strength isn’t always about who has the largest biceps, The thickest calves, The most powerful triceps. Strength isn’t always about who can lift the most, Who can throw the farthest, Whose won fights to boast.
I felt connection there, my yellow skin flashing in stark contrast with the black in my right hand, the white in my left.
Beauty is only skin deep? Does that mean not everyone is beautiful? No.
There is a life. A life of a new age in which all men are free. I never dreamed that I would see this day, ho how my soul looks back in wonder. Our Ancestors, who bore the strife and the hardships of this life, they call to us.
Darkness was all that was there Black, the color of a rising movement Hate, the feeling that overflowed the nation White, actions patterned with violence Hope, fuel for peaceful end to hate
Darkness was all that was there Black, the color of a rising movement Hate, the feeling that overflowed the nation White, actions patterned with violence Hope, fuel for peaceful end to hate
From the beginning of time we have been judged by the color of our skin. Not caring for what was within. People have told us for years we are not wanted here, but what makes them think we had a choice?
Can a nation divided, come together to undo what’s been done? Can we go back to where it all begun? This time, discrimination has been overdone. Having the rights stripped from each one. Color shouldn't matter,
There once was a man who said, "I have a dream." This man's dream was to be more than what he seem. To not be classified simply by color, but to be equal by each other.
I AM, Somebody. Initiating the vigorous montage of syllables sliding down our tongues. corruptedly speaking our words of passion and love of grace. Bullets of sweat trailing down the shell, we can not change
Lost soul Lost faces One Color Lost Races Here but not in existence, just traces Draws warnings on these spaces Knows but doesn't feel Wounded but never healed Eyes open or close they see
We as humans, only asked to act upon our gift of living Throughout the abuse and torture We still find in our hearts, the spirit of forgiving Watching our people experience genocide Contemplating suicide
Day by Day I look upon a street Watching and listening As kids are dancing to the beats
first foot, second foot march. here and there everywhere just march. to get where we half way are today they had to march. to get where we want to be tomorrow and never be sorrow we have to march.
This year, paper showed what we really are to everyone; equal. Racial discrimination banned at work. Free to vote wherever we want. The south cannot exclude us anymore, Or so we think. We may be met in 1965,
I love your brown skin I can't wait to see you again Again to see your brown skin Marred by the stormy weather discrimination Oh you know I love your brown skin Some will call you a yellow bone,
Why is strife so memorable? It seems our struggles are painted on our wings As we fly to the destination of our dreams We can remember the murky water Traveled in and the time that clarity evened
The breath that must withstand the agony of birth, as an innocent child enters the world, also is the air that cares for the stern man, who pays her no mind. Her careful hands cradle the baby bird,
People being treated unfair, Being judged for their race, For racism is cruel, This is why we now have Civil Rights, Freedom for religion, Freedom of speech, This is why we have laws,
There's no one keeping you down he says because the President is Black You don't need a scholarship for your melanin because the President is Black
Started as a vision of a free nation then into a life of domination, life as I knew it was about race and the creators are just playing a game.
I see the photograph: you -- black, beaming, full of bravado off to fight a war on German soil, not of your own making the light is incandescent, against the barracks in the company
A century before, Not quite a distant enough memory brother fought brother on an all too familiar soil.
Blindfolded I am led to the asphalt And blindfolded I stand Hoping these men Will pave the way
Black and white White and black Ying and yang Colors that make this world bright Why should color of skin matter When trying to achieve rights?
Nonviolence. The arrogant scoff and say to themselves as they rub their knuckles “What a sissy notion. What a waste of time.” Leafing through a history book, the pupils dilate
These streets remind me of quicksand When your on it you'll keep goin down
These streets remind me of quicksand When your on it you'll keep goin down
The Bible reads "All Men Are Created Equal" So why do you detest me so? My heart beats My brain thinks I have emotions Just like you. Why do you treat me so differently? I see on TV
Why does skin color matter? We are people, arent we? Black brown or white We differ but its alright
Chains chafe my skin My blood mixes with the sweat upon my back Both rivulets running down and racing to the dry dirt My burden affixed upon my shoulders
One mind, Same heart, Why are we blind to see that, But yet quick to see color, Black, White, Orange, Green, Red, We all bleed red. Pain experienced, Violence involved, Tragic heartbreak.
"After working all day.." Tired, i bet, All day had she worked, worked up a darn good sweat, Oh Lord, this woman said no.
One nation, one love, we are one.
My mama tells me they don't belong They're different Foreign Disgusting. My mama tells me I can't share Anything. I'll get sick. They are beneath us.
Imagine this life Divided by segregation No equality No independance A life not worth living in Ruled by skin color
E - Everyone is loved in God's eyes. Q - Quietness about this issue is not needed. U - Understand how important it is to stand up. A - Anticipation for a better future. L - Let people know what you stand for.
Faces dark and faces light, Hues so varied shining bright. Different colors God did paint, Beauty marked on every face. He decreed that all should love, Welcome, embrace, never shove,
Cradled by life, mind so naive Fierce within, yet shackled by body. A voice so strong, a will so powerful, Humanity's gift so humble yet so. Very striking. Ghouls gaze upon onyx skin and fall behind deviled eyes.
Those who wrote the law full of special holes riddled with exceptions Their money flows their hands reach They claim power but natural rights they cannot bend. This inherent power
You look inside the bus You find a sea of people Much like an ocean Both filled with life Colors are scattered about As people move around Much like a rainbow Both vibrant and beautiful
Look around you, Do you see All those wandering souls just waiting to be freed? The boy watching the popular girl, too scared to approach, Lest he be tormented for wanting to be close.
Fear Filled within their hearts Individuality, discouraged by the Xeroxes Adversity, scorned Change, frightening The Unique With an appetite For speech For Identity For Recognition
(poems go here)
Life is peachy, but its's got a little fuzz the inside is sweet but there's no hidding what's above pick it up, set it back down, show it no love Looking only at the surface, not what it consist of
Civil rights are right, right? Yes, indeed they are right, because it say so in the phrase, don't have an eyebrow to raise, because civil rights are right.
Centuries of oppression, Second rate, second-class existence, Judgment not by character but the color of one’s skin, Biting dogs and blasting hoses assault the dreams of decades,
The smoke burns My throat is sore Daddy says run But they’re doing more. I never knew How bad it was How much hurt Came from us. ‘Cause Daddy says This is okay. And any lies
They were treated different, Because they looked different. They were a different race They were made no space To live together in their world They weren't equal enough, and were hurled
You try to tell me, that we are not one You try to tell him that he is not like me You want to separate us But what you don’t see is that we are truly together You are me, I am you, you are him and her!
Living in the Shadows, the man of color Looks for work, only to be turned down. Another day for food stamps and support from his wife Living in the Shadows, the man of color
Still happening. Marched for nothing? Television tells me that, we did not win the rights we asked for. As women, as men, as people. People in a society that should consider us that, People.
Discrimination. We all thought that was gone after the Civil Rights movement. However, today's generation faces a new type of discrimination. That discrimination is on who you can love. We say equal opportunity for all,
Tell me; do you know the colors of the rainbow? Tell me; have you ever sat and watched all the people as they walk by? When I look into the rainbow I do not see black, nor white.
All or Nothing, Our neurons fire based on that principle All or Nothing, Our elders fought for that principle All or Nothing, All or Nothing, I keep repeating those words
You stand with Me. Hands connected. contrasting skin. Warm from the fight that flows through our veins Damp from the tears of our palms. Against Oppression neither of us can take. You stand with Me.
Civil Rights, a hope to be free when all around, is segregation we see Disrespect, no justice all the time Segregation is such a worldly crime
Black and white are as opposite as the sun and the moon. People can be so thick skulked, like stuck in a cocoon. Even if the colors are on the opposite sides of the color wheel. But judgment is what all people can feel.
started from the bottom now we here 2008 was our year our first black president was elected he made a change for blacks that were neglected helping african americans overcome their struggle
You took charge. You had power with your words. You are a hero in so many eyes. Your spirit will never die. You are the only reason I'm here. You made it possible for me to be here.
I am often asked why i do it, why I sit in everyday, when those cops throw us away why i sit in jail, when no one ever posts bail How can I be free, when I am down on one knee
Together we soar, Together we strive, Together we are great, Together we are alive; But not today, no, We have lost all equality, Judgments and discrimination, Create a growing fatality;
I've overcome… From the whips and chains.. I've overcome… From the bitter taste and sinking pains.. I've overcome… From the shackles and wounds that burn all day.. I've overcome…
Marching forth ever forward- a better future awaits Marching strong ever together- a better future is near Marching united ever fighting- a better future is ensured Marching forward
I stare in front of me as I put one foot In front of the other I look down At my wrists And see them yoked to my brother’s And my sister’s I think about how proud my mother Would have been
It hurt, you know. The way you treated me. The way you made fun of me, the way you hurt me, the way you talked about me like I wasn't there. It was like I wasn't even human to you.
Martin Luther King, Jr. unveiled a dream and a brighter vision Rosa Parks, unwilling to move aside, said "no" A. Philip Randolph organized a march that would make waves
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, not a definition of a physical substance. Beauty is a color, a multitude of colors, a sea of colors, a flowing serpent of delicious dangerous colors,
End
One day closer Each day To a time When this will be finished.
Love and Acceptance broke through the chains of Hatred and Prejudice. They fought long and hard and finally gained power, gained momentum; Equal Rights for every man, white or black or in between.
Falling. The fresh taste of blood salts my lips. Rage. How dare I dream about a future that may never come? For dreams bring the pain, despair of hope. Hope for the better. Anything better.
Keep quiet, Censored. It’s just ignorance and fear; she says. Well I’m afraid of a lot of things, Tornadoes, Spiders, Escalators, You don’t see me limiting them. Am I powerful?
Racism is something that one can't speak on unless they experienced themselves Looking to be treated equally like everyone else is simply like a toddler reaching for a 6 foot shelf
Passing by their faces show, The ignorance hidden deep below. I read their faces like a book, Absorbing every dirty look. Fear and guilt consume their eyes, Unconcealed through pretty lies.
EQUAL rights EQUAL political freedom EQUAL social freedom EQUAL =
We're marching for our freedom and rights Picking up a righteous fight The streets are paved in black and white So join us as we march for our morning light
By the way things used to bug me is not the same way it bugs them but with euality and equity it bugs us all now; I know i wasn't able to do things they did but now i can do what they do
here they come, riding on the two buses that would have changed the world, here they come, the freedom riders here they come.
I strive to take a breath as my lungs fill with the heavy smoke The fire burns so hot sweat begins to trickle off my arms The burns sting and the heat dries out my eyes.
The power of the right, Was not acknowledged by the Might. They fought and fought, Yet they were left distraught. No one’s pointing a finger, But did you do more than linger?
The world was so cruel All the blacks were treated like fools They were enslaved by whites They had no civil rights But now look where they are They have made it so far They fought for civil rights
"All of you boys best move right now!" yelled the officer. I did not move, for I was unafraid. Dr. King said we must not move, so I do not move. "If ya'll don't want to listen, I'll get the hose"
Law Righteousness They are not the same One Yet two To the naked eye The other is blind They can come From two different minds And never intertwine For some reason
How naive are we to believe that the civil rights movement is over? Is it because we can all vote for our presidents? Because no black man has to fear a master, running away from the screams?
“Red and yellow BLACK and WHITE They are precious in his sight…” Words and songs sometimes forgotten, Decomposed, spoiled, and rotten. For one to rule over others not like him
Breathe in. Stay calm. Fingers refuse As they shake. Reach for the door knob. Take a moment to gather Some valor. Think of The King. Remember Ghandi. Remember Rosa.
In a bus, in the city of Montgomery, A woman came aboard. Little did anyone know at the time, That this woman would change the world.
Black Black and White Were all eyes closed at once Hurt Hurt in hearts and marching to the South the south of our hearts what rips us apart inside Sit Sit on that bus March
Now we are here TODAY, And still so far away. Thinking about the PAST, And the world TODAY. See the world told me, It would never be equal. Maybe not even bilingual.
The night was thick like a nightmare, The shadows lurked with fear, The gentle wind felt cold on our dark skin, Our hearts raced like a caged bird’s wings.
Foundations of these lands were marked by the free and the brave. Through history of the past, fights were fought to make others understand Settlement and sacrifice, journey through many cultures which made it grand
When I walk down the street, You look at me funny Saying in your mind “we don’t like your kind sonny.”
Pain Gain? The innocent slain They were treated like dirt Whether they wore pants or a skirt They were washed away like muck And hauled away in big trucks
We were called crazy then. To us they were not benign. We fought our brothers opinions. We were seen as out of line.
A protector from discrimination You come for my salvation In your eyes there is no difference of color No shame in sexual orientation No barriers for speech, No integrity that is beat down
On a bus that cold wintery December 1st 1955, Word caught the wind and the people did thrive. Could this be? Well of course it could. From the white folk ever came anything good.
Do you know about the past? When your ancestors thought they wouldn’t last? Sitting in the back of that class Words that hurt more than walking on broken glass Moving on past the discrimination
Together let’s play a game, A game of Checker’s with two colors, With squares both equal and same.
You’re not white. You’re black. That’s not right. You live in fight With supplies that lack. You’re not white. Keep out of sight. The world’s a sack. That’s not right.
Dream, Dream That's all I ever knew I have a few Dream, Dream Don't you see We are one, not three Dream, Dream My skin is dark That doesn't mean I need a mark
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,
Met a man on the street today, black shoes, black glasses, black skin
 Talked a while about this age we're living in
 Told me his story, how he'd nearly made history
 Until he realized the strings were pulled by white hands
When dreams long since are spent and broken- when a weary people can no longer wait- they will rise up, rise from raisins and sores and rotten meat, and they will speak.
Once united Now divided Forced to move For the greed of whites Stript of their pride Stript of their freedom Forced to leave their homes To live their lives as slaves
Freedom America has invested hundreds of years of its time, fighting for equality. Every morning, children throughout the nation chant the Pledge of Allegiance. Hand over heart.
Rosa, Martin, and I We agree, see eye to eye. Ain't we all equal? Ain't we all people? Susan, Sojourner, and I Also see eye to eye. “Ain't I a woman?” Just as good as any man?
One voice shouts against the grain Words of anger, fear, and pain, Arms spread wide to grasp the sun, But too far a leap for only one
I wish the moon could kiss my lips, Releasing the sorrow I so long have held there. A gentle touch from beams ever last. Calms the soul, calms the soul, Keeps me whole.
(A colored skin individual with dreams and aspiration in their eyes Faced with the choices of the now and the then Reminded of the options and choices they never had No opportunity to frolic among the most educated
In the beginning, there was darkness. There was no room for sense, No room for differences. But one day, a light suddenly appeared. There was laughter and tears, Celebration and mourning,
From the desks of Mayor Art Hanes and Commissioner Bull Conner; Birmingham, 1963: ticktick, ticktick, ticktick: Bull: they’ve begun to sing. more of a chant. you know—tribal, Bull. Transmission follows:
W E T H E P E O P L E
The Whipping of my body, tattered Will never leave my soul a’battered I will one day ascend these fields And see this country for what it yields Not to slave, but to citizen To the brave, who peril this denizen
I climbed up the mountain, the day was blue. Sprinkled in gold and burned with truth. The sun shone as I reached my goal. The peak loomed, then welcomed and called me home.
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