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Tulsa 1921
03:33
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Mr.Rowland, entered an elevator, in Tulsa in 1921
A young black man on his way to the bathroom, the segregated one
He might have tripped, but some store clerk thought he was a threat
The girl didn’t want to press charges, but Rowland’s fate was set
Rowland was arrested, some feared a lynching that night
So a group of Roland’s neighbors went to see everything’s all right
Met by a larger white mob, before long the guns appeared
Bullets were exchanged, just as some had feared
The KKK had members all throughout the state
Who couldn’t stand that the blacks had dared to stand up straight
The white folks brought in airplanes, to do what damage they could
The planes dropped bombs to level the whole black neighborhood
After two days of assault, hundreds wounded or dead
Thousands of black folks homeless, no houses, no beds
All the exact numbers are lost to the mists of time
No indictments, no convictions, no mention of the crime
The history books were written, of Tulsa not a word
Almost no way of knowing, just what had occurred
Its only in the last few years, we’ve started to remember
And you can still find statues of old Klan members
a hundred years later, the president rallies his base
On Juneteenth, the anniversary of slavery’s disgrace
where does he pick, to hold it, Tulsa, Oklahoma
what kind of strange fruit is this, what a horrible aroma
So don’t you go telling me, racism is dead and gone
The list of the names that we’re chanting go on and on and on
How many other Tulsas happened that we don’t know
The only thing that’s clear is that white supremacy has got to go
(c) M. Skliar 2020
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It’s a start to say all the names out loud
Softly by yourself or marching in a crowd
Its a start to curse the heavens for sending storm clouds
It’s a start, don’t let it end there
it’s a start to realize there’s no help from above
and sometimes nothing happens without a shove
but nothing’s gonna work unless its done with love
it’s a start, don’t let it end there
Change the world and you’ll change too
All together there’s nothing we can’t do
Oh I want to believe that….Oh I need to believe that
Its a start to try to list everything that’s wrong
To pursue the path of justice, no matter how long
To bring people together in a mighty song
It’s a start, don’t let it end there
it’s a start knowing when to push or pull
to hold all of us accountable
go up against odds that seem insurmountable
it’s a start, don’t let it end there
(c) M. Skliar 2020
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