I stand bound before you because of the iron that runs through my veins...
It feels a lot like slavery with these modern day shackles && chains
A mind , heart , && spirit that should have never been caged
Tryna educate ourselves with a book stuck on the same page ...
Life .
Or maybe not ...
Maybe this is just a prime example of history repeating
You know everyone's into make-overs maybe that's JUST what racism was needing
Because the face of racism is an interesting one.
A mouth that won't smile
Only fixes its lips to speak slurs so vile
Have you tried seeing the world through its eyes?
Who says racism can't be color blind?
I propose racism is just that
For those whose primary targets are black
Ears deaf to the sound of equality so all that's left is the nose that refuses to smell
the stench it's created from burning souls in this man made hell
Knowing that I represent more than just myself
Our history so rich but we lack wealth
Cause we're still paying the price for events of the past
Slavery is gone but it’s the mindset that lasts
Even in 1998 everything was bigger in Texas
A national spotlight put on some men that got arrested
In a small town called Jasper for a body found by Huff Creek
Killed by three white men who had barely been out of a jail for a week
He was trying to fly but James became a Byrd with broken wings
&& BB King is responsible for the blues this bird sings
It’s interesting to me how the connotation of words can change so much…
I mean there was a time when this item had us bound , we couldnt even complain….
No we yell with such freedom not one but 2 CHAINZZZZZZ….
Bound him
As he was being dragged or miles behind that truck.
I was a little confused so I decided to look it up…
justice ?
Is justice the reason Emmett Till was killed ?
A teenage boy from Chicago gone to Mississippi to visit family
He was leaving a convenient store with some snacks && some candy
&& he whistled at a white woman
But it's the Jim Crow south
So it's only fitting a couple white men were gonna show him how NOT to run his mouth
&& to this very day we still call the south dirty
Because it will forever be stained with the blood of a black boy that got a little too flirty
See Emmett wasn't necessarily in the wrong place at the wrong time but he made one decision
That caused some men to make it a point to get his attention
Don't you remember how I said history has it's way of showing up a again ?
57 years later in the case of Trayvon Martin
A 17 year old boy 3 years difference from Emmett Till
Targeted for that gangsta black boy appeal
You know pants hanging just a little below the waist
A hoodie pulled up so far you couldn't even see his face
He was walking down dark streets at night
A man was ready to go to war but Trayvon Martin wasn't armed to fight
So is it justice that he was killed ?
Or is it only justice when the lips of racism arent sealed ?
Never once have those lips spoken the ugly truth , more like an ugly lie
so how can you say Trayvon Martin was in the wrong place at the wrong time
Is it wrong to walk down paths made && paved by men ,
Physical manifestations of the thoughts paved by sin
Being a child of God were his footsteps not ordered in The Lord
In the symphony of life I guess they weren't on the same accord .
Cause 'It's so much easier to walk down a concrete street , than down a dirt road.'
And 'You cant tell if an apple is rotten if its painted gold'
Trayvon made one decision
That can't be viewed as right or wrong
No matter how you try to sing it its still the chained melody of our song
The music industry these days is notorious for shedding light two types of women
The women you never want to shine a light on and the women that shine so bright you cant help but to notice them
Those are our Michelle Obamas, Phyliia Rahsads , Gabrielle Unions, Alicia Keys, Toni Morrisons and Maya Angelous just to name a few
But none matched the strength && determination of one very unique Katrina
Another national phemomon unrightfully ignored
&& hell hath no fury like a black woman scorned
So New Orleans the city of food , soul , && jazz
Was faced with adversity to see to see if it could last
-Ing impressions , temporary oppression
No answers just questions
so I ask you … in the midst of the storms we have been through what is justice ?
Just ice? It can never stand the heat so is only a matter of time before it shows its true form
H20
I just have one question I gotta know
What is justice??
Is Justice just the justification of the juxtaposition of
Two things closely related but not quite the same
Looks to me like there's been a lot of injustice done in justice's name
For years we have been walking a thin line between knowing what's right and doing what's wrong
with the chains they wanna use to hold us back lets make music and dance to that song ..
&& though racism isn’t gone what you do with it depends
On how you want to respond to the message that it sends
So I say to you today be black && be proud
Dont even sweat the people that view you as weak && loud
They say that the loudest one in the room is the weakest one in the room
So the silent are strong it's only right to assume
let it be known the silent are heard ...
The color brown screams 'Im a threat' without ever saying a word
I just don't know another way to express how I'm feeling
Because over the years I've realized writing && music are my only true healings
So hopefully my words guided you while the chained melody of my people did nothing short of hypnotize you .