So I Say

So they say it's over,

it's in the past,

but I in contrast

say "No".

No.

The King stood in 1968,

but he was shot,

shot down.

And as he fell,

we rose,

we rose.

But the black man cannot stand too high

cannot stand too tall

for he must still bend at the knees

to a history,

a history of subversion,

a past of pain

and for what have we gained?

So I say, "No."

The world may be a little older,

but it ain't over.

It ain't over

'till a black man

can just be a man

'till he can be more than

the color of his skin.

So I say, "No.

No sir, it ain't over."

It ain't over 'till boys named Trayvon

can walk on

without being shot down.

So I say it,

I say it again,

"No.

No, America.

It ain't over."