SHADES OF BLACK & WHITE (feat. LISTENCLASH)

My white is my black and My black is my white I stand with white and black Face and back Whether edgy or polite Bright or uptight There's the third degree From the powers that be I'll never be free Either they see the black or white of me You say, let it be Either black or white, let it be But I'm stuck between worlds Seein' only skin deep It's deep in the skin Who's my skin's kin It's the race - not the pace It's as clear as the nose on my face Do I fall from grace Or am I in a high place I hear whites, thinking I'm white Bias against blacks When I fight back, I'm whacked The white of me dissed by blacks I turn on the pack - they attack Kidnapped from home, Chained -shipped unknown Two hundred years Of tears Workin' on land Whips in hand 1831 Turner Revolt Slave Rebellion bolt Underground rails Turning wind to sails Tubman soldier spy Opening North's eyes 1857 Dred Scott decision South rejoi-ces - slaves not cit-i-zens Frederic Douglas voices "... man cannot hold property in man" this won't stand John Brown at Harper's Ferry 1859 hung and buried Abraham Lincoln President 1860 Message sent South succession Teach North a lesson Tensions build Eruptions - kill 1861 Civil War on Nation divided - America GONE Lincoln Emancipation 1863 Reunite Union - slaves free South disagrees YOU AREN'T TELLING ME Civil War continues On And On "til Six hundred and twenty thousand dead North & South Bled Civil War dies in 1865 Sheets and hoods donned Klan's disguise on '68 Black Code addressed In 14th Amendment test Equal under the law. Freedom? Hope? NOPE 1870 15th Amendment Right to Vote -Hope Nope! Federal soldiers step aside 1877 vote denied 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson "Separate but equal" Is That equal for all people 1909 NAACP found Some say illegal Legal but illegal PEOPLE IS THIS A SEQUEL Green Book, Bible of black travel Safe without hassle Sheets in Tulsa shatter Town! - Disaster Klan-1944 for years to come We've fought the wars For love of our home Why can't people leave us alone 47 Jackie Robinson -Brown vs Brown 54 14th Amendment out the door Racial segregation in public schools Another of Sheet's tools Rosa, oh Rosa, takes her seat Standing on her own feet The interracial Lovings' love Blessed by God from up above Freedom Riders ride They had to hide From bombs and death Out of their depth James Meredith education Kennedy troops protect James and nation Martin tells the nation Of dreams and revelations I have a Dream I HAVE A DREAM KENNEDY GONE MEDGAR GONE MALCOLM GONE Selma to Montgomery March Still in back of bus Coughin' dust Walkin' the street Freedom to eat Still a dead heat, the hot seat Acts of '64 & '65 Jim crow died... deny Watts Riots lucky to be alive Seale and Newton rising up Black Panthers 10 Points jus-tice 1967 Thurgood Marshall Supreme progress People still Civil Rights ob-sessed Fair Housing of '68 Protestors still crashing the gates THEN MARTIN'S GONE THE DREAM GONE THE MOUNTAIN TOP GONE BOBBY GONE COMPASSION GONE OH, THE MOUNTAIN'S GONE Black power heard Spreading their word Chisholm to Congress Affirmative Action Angelou, Ali, Jesse Jack-son Rainbow Coalition Protest conditions Baldwin prophetic Belafonte notes Doc Elders surgeon general Promotes Bluford rarified air. Rodney King lay bare LA Riots Frustration despair One step forward two steps back Travon Martin Rapper kings On the beaten track President Obama opens the door To two steps forward for Inspiration honor I HAVE A DREAM I HAVE A DREAM UNTIL he leaves THEN it's Two steps back IT'S NOT WHAT IT SEEMS So, it goes A STEP FORWARD Moderna Doc. News Pres. Jones Fortune 500 Exec NBA C- E. -O Then a step back with Floyd How to fill the void With Black Lives Matter BLACK LIVES MATTER Steps forward Artists extraordinaire in rarified air Actors musicians singers Inspiring more than a wing on a prayer But there's still two steps back TWO STEPS BACK Split, up against it If the cap fits, wear it But what's the cap There's a credibility gab Like a steel trap Am I gonna beat this rap Hell no! It's there for everyone to see I'm black and white It doesn't matter the degree The genesis of -- bigots - hate How to escape Am I in the jaws of a lost cause Haters, doubters All traitors to the creator Size me up with a look 'Cause they don't know my book Think they know There they go They don't know the depth of me Black and White aren't even colors They're shades They're shades of color The world is full of shades Shades on display that are here to stay Shades God made, what can I say Is it 'cause we're blending into one The world's on the run Billions of people And I'm only one See me and what shades have done The Black & White Shades It's just a shade The world needs heart in its eyes to turn wise It's just a shade WHY ARE YOU AFRAID