The Cost

With failed attempts at justice new The world returns its starring gaze States United begin a new hew A pillar of freedom raised Death and oppression began the fight A mark much deeper than the brands And once renewed began the fight A nation influenced by newer hands Marches commenced and clashes broke White Supremacy began to fade The black man would no longer bear the yoke The bus seat, the equality, stayed A battle of Kings and nations raged forward And the arc of history bent Judicial rulings paved the way toward New opportunities and hope God-sent The sacrifice great, the cost terrible The world soon changed its view A generation who thought it incomprehensible That color determined your value Hands reached across the divide And stood together United in one stride A walk on Washington to last forever How little We know Of their sacrifice Of their efforts to sow What has come at a price And what do We know Of Equality’s price and Freedom’s bite? Of pain, anger, repression and sorrow What do We know of the fight? The struggle remains in distant memory, in grasses of seemingly ancient dew A new generation is born, giving up their hateful vice The world has begun a new story, a new hew And how little we know their sacrifice