Story of My City

So when they write the story of my city, what things will they write down Will they hold up an image that's pretty, or will they look at what we've found 'Cause if the remedies die in committee, the tragedy will just compound And if this can happen in my city, then stay vigilant 'Cause it can happen in your town It started with the spark from the deeds of the dark blue Snuffed out a life? Cool, you still employed Not a new phenomenon now the camera's on Feel our pain, say their name [Breonna Taylor, George Floyd] Ahmaud Arbery and Botham Jean Every name a hashtag, it goes on and on And the people had enough, cause knowledge is half the battle man Defund the police, black lives matter man Cause that's the bottom line it come down to Not just in cities but the burbs and some small towns too Even corporations started following suit I started tripping, there's an NFL apology too?? Dang A lot of change but no policies made official Symbolic transformation, mostly superficial Which doesn't fix the problem if it's systemic So we kept the protest going, despite the pandemic Meanwhile, in the White House, every day another blunder So 45 tried to resurrect his polling numbers By criticizing my city, saying we not legit Always on Twitter spreading ignorance and talking sh Situations outta hand, he says, and then he sends the goons Border Patrol tactical units in full platoons Not keeping peace, but aggravated division instead Identified a protestor and shot him in the head Then had the nerve to be like c'mon people Yeah we shot him in the head but the round was less lethal And if you like that, you'll love our plans to roll up on people and snatch 'em up in unmarked vans So now the nation's eyes are on us, since the Conscience of the government is unconscious It makes me wonder 'bout, how we picked this route And how bad it would be if we had never started speaking out So when they write the story of my city, what things will they write down Will they hold up an image that's pretty, or will they look at what we've found? 'Cause if the remedies die in committee, the tragedy will just compound And if this can happen in my city, then stay vigilant If you think we'll just get used to this, you're mistaken if you build a wall to hold us back, we will break it Every shady deal and crooked scale, we will straighten With the smell of injustice in the air, we won't take it, we won't take it So where do we go from here? Do we succumb to fear? What happens when the protest is over How do we mobilize while decentralized Stay informed to vote and get some kind of closure Who's gonna repair relationships, between cops and Citizens, so they have heard us, and we've heard them And when we say to defund police, we still need to Keep the peace, but programs can help lift their burden We can't be slippin' backwards, our detractors Broadcast the axiom that all cops are bastards When if you look at the facts, it's a faction of Anti-black un-hold-accountable bad actors And what we're looking for is more accountability But inflammatory words erode civility and stability That's not the way to build a coalition, jack Property damage will manage to set the mission back So if you're really in this to stand up for Black lives Don't brandish Molotov cocktails or jack knives And if you really think racism is evil Then take your cues from actual Black people 'Cause we been doin' this for decades, regardless if we get paid We change the trajectory, collectively To keep the pace, we must interface with those Who hold stakes in each sector respectively Commercial leaders, nonprofits and faith keepers Amplify the message and to help us all to wake sleepers Wake up the city, the state, and then the nation And that's the story we'll tell for generations Before this here occupation ends, our nation of citizens Will have to rise up when they're needed So if you've got a care to give, don't hijack the narrative Or history will be repeated If you think we'll just get used to this, you're mistaken if you build a wall to hold us back, we will break it Every shady deal and crooked scale, we will straighten With the smell of injustice in the air, we won't take it, we won't take it So when they write the story of my city, what things will they write down Will they hold up an image that's pretty, or will they look at what we've found? 'Cause if the remedies die in committee, the tragedy will just compound And if this can happen in my city, then stay vigilant 'Cause it can happen in your town