It Kept Moving

He did not see his color When he whistled at the lady, But it boldly shone under The white sun’s glare Like blood drops on satin. With one swift movement he was gone And the evidence lay on his torn body Like broken glass strewn across an alley. His only crime was for his skin And would not repent this unlawful sin, Open casket screamed out in tears, Look what they did to my boy! Ignorant eyes fed by hot southern meals could not be moved, for they chained him to the ghettos, they snatched away his vote, barricaded him from the schools, brutally assaulted his hope. Humanity refused to be enslaved By Sam’s Freedom grave, To bring about a peace— A silence louder than their oppression. Greensboro sits in To stand up To separate but equal, Little Rock Nine marches through Like mice in mine fields, To Dixie on bus— The fight was at its C.O.R.E These simple acts for basic rights Were met with catastrophic plight Arrested and beaten, Lou’s ballot never cast, House bombed Church gone, Abernathy watched the flames. Like vicious winds Of howling caves, Bombingham exploded in rage. The dogs set loose By officers’ hands, Children at the hoses’ mercy, Captured in black and white, Bull Connor’s callous cruelty Yet together they stood in unity, Standing for more than black community, But for the decency of brotherhood— Mankind’s good, A moral dilemma “as old as the scriptures” and clear as day And how to break the chains And rise from underneath The White man’s feet? Soul force and civil disobedience The King did preach, But to X and Stokely The Dream would not convene under a softened fist. Black Panthers Black Power Black Pride, Strengthened his beaten spine That had been denied And forced him to hide Behind his flesh The true content of his character. Behold change broke the chains, Dignity, justice, reclaimed. Light brought to the shadowed mind Gave birth to a liberated time. The sacrifices and memory’s past Echo like ripples from the rain, A meaningful cause to fight for Is harder to maintain They fought for equality, For the brotherhood of you and me, We fight for Facebook pageants And a bigger SUV The movement came And now it’s gone, Now who will carry its spirit on?