Seperate but equal THEY SAID!

(poems go here) You will not go here they said You will not sit here they said No desegregation of schools they said White and Black, NO MIXING THEY SAID You do not have rights here they said 3/8th black you belong in the back they said Plessy one-eight black and seven-eighths white you are breaking the laws they said Separate but equal they said He was legally required to sit in the "colored" car because those drops of blood Made you a Negro they said The segregation law was a violation of the United States constitution My people said But who gave a damn about what the Negro had to say But who gave a damn society was raised that way Fourteenth Amendment was supposed to change my life Fourteenth amendment made slaves citizens of the United States of America Equal protection under the law But how could one be “Equal” and segregated at the same time. “Separate but equal,” THEY SAID But that was all crap I said Segregation slapped that law in the face I said Made every skin color inferior to my race Black was a sin Black was bad Black meant you were as good as trash You will not go here they said You will not sit here they said You do not have rights here they said 3/8th black you belong in the back they said Plessy v. Ferguson set the precedent that the separation of blacks and whites Was equal as long as they both received the same accommodations But still THAT WAS NOT UNEQUAL THEY SAID Who am I the little girl said? White is right the little girl said But her skin was as dark as a Hershey kiss She was beautiful but she was brain washed She was beautiful but they said she was not Someone has to fight my people said Thurgood Marshall would be the hero Sending countless cases to the Supreme Court Violation of the fourteenth amendment equal protection clause And the attempt to desegregate schools Challenging segregation in Delaware, South Carolina, Virginia, the nation’s capital, And Topeka, Kansans Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education I said This would change it all That decision was unanimous 9 to 0 May 17th 1954 Separate is not equal they said You are my people they said I can sit here they said I can go here they said Desegregation of schools they said Thank you God I said Civil rights is not just about boycotting Civil rights is not just about refusing to take the bus Civil rights is not just about fighting for your freedom by marching I can go here they said Desegregate those schools they said Equal Protection they said No longer will I be ashamed I said Who am I the little girl said I am beautiful she said Nobody is any better than me she said Dark as a Hershey kiss she said There is no one stopping me she said Thank you God I said Sitting in a classroom with my White, Black, Asian, European, Indian, Caribbean, African Brothers and Sisters I said