The Voice of the Oppressor and the Voice of the Oppressed
Carved into history
When America decreed
The north and south collided
And all the slaves were freed
But racism is alive
It’s concealed within our speech
The living manifestation
Of a thirsty, blood-sucking leech
It’s your unfamiliar tongue
It’s your skin color, too
It’s the ways in which you teach
I’m superior to you
”All men are created equal”
But equality was never meant to be
It is pride and prejudice
That created this hateful legacy
“All men are created equal”
but some are more equal than others
Corruption and abuse of power
is what divides us, sisters and brothers
When you exercise your power
Like a horse that can’t be tamed
Another ends up on the floor, screaming
“You shot me!” He is blamed.
Is that a weapon or a cellphone?
You don’t know, you can’t see.
A gunshot in the distance,
The words “Why did you shoot me?”
In the dead of the night
A teenager lay on the ground
“Please don’t let me die.”
He heard no reply, no sound.
“Please, please don’t shoot me --
I don’t have a gun!”
Seven bullets later,
A mother lost her son.
He picked up a rifle
from the shelves of a store
He was first shot,
then told to “Get on the floor.”
The vile dehumanization
of an innocent man
“It’s not real!” - He was shot
Just because authority can
They think they can kill us
Without being caught
They think they can take away
The rights that we got.
The suspects turn to victims,
Just for being black.
Hatred towards all races -
there’s no going back.
Respect and obedience -
These are things that we earn.
Values and tradition -
These are things that we learn.
Differences set us apart
Yet it makes us who we are
The color of our skin
Shouldn’t put us behind bars
Rights and responsibility -
These are things you cannot teach
I know what belongs to me
And those are things you cannot reach.
When America decreed
The north and south collided
And all the slaves were freed
But racism is alive
It’s concealed within our speech
The living manifestation
Of a thirsty, blood-sucking leech
It’s your unfamiliar tongue
It’s your skin color, too
It’s the ways in which you teach
I’m superior to you
”All men are created equal”
But equality was never meant to be
It is pride and prejudice
That created this hateful legacy
“All men are created equal”
but some are more equal than others
Corruption and abuse of power
is what divides us, sisters and brothers
When you exercise your power
Like a horse that can’t be tamed
Another ends up on the floor, screaming
“You shot me!” He is blamed.
Is that a weapon or a cellphone?
You don’t know, you can’t see.
A gunshot in the distance,
The words “Why did you shoot me?”
In the dead of the night
A teenager lay on the ground
“Please don’t let me die.”
He heard no reply, no sound.
“Please, please don’t shoot me --
I don’t have a gun!”
Seven bullets later,
A mother lost her son.
He picked up a rifle
from the shelves of a store
He was first shot,
then told to “Get on the floor.”
The vile dehumanization
of an innocent man
“It’s not real!” - He was shot
Just because authority can
They think they can kill us
Without being caught
They think they can take away
The rights that we got.
The suspects turn to victims,
Just for being black.
Hatred towards all races -
there’s no going back.
Respect and obedience -
These are things that we earn.
Values and tradition -
These are things that we learn.
Differences set us apart
Yet it makes us who we are
The color of our skin
Shouldn’t put us behind bars
Rights and responsibility -
These are things you cannot teach
I know what belongs to me
And those are things you cannot reach.