"Five score years ago,”
Looking out at the sea of growing people
They’ve come to end the segregation between them and the white folk
They believe I can help them,
That I have the power to make people listen
They have so much hope, so much energy, invested in me
Their screams reverberate through my skull
Bouncing around with so much force
I am nearly knocked down
Looking out at the faces of these men, these women, even these children,
I see they have something fresh in their eyes, in their hearts
HOPE.
Hope for something better.
Hope for equality.
Hope for change.
The sea of faces grows so large
So overwhelming.
Some shout for equality,
Some for peace,
Others, for retribution.
“Retribution?” I think.
So many hurt, scorned, hated
Because of the color of their skin,
Because they don’t look the same as one specific person.
Who made one race better than the others?
Sure.
Retribution seems called for, but in the end who wins?
Who takes home the final trophy?
Retribution is one step too far, in the wrong direction.
“I have a dream today.”
One day these people, MY people, will drop the chains that hold them,
The chains that keep them under the thumb of the white man.
The shouting grows continuously.
It seems they all have this dream too.
Maybe we’ll be able to make this dream a reality.
Maybe one day we will not be judged by the color of our skin,
Or the tilts of our eyes,
Or the size of our noses.
Maybe one day we will be judged by who we are and not by our EXTREMITIES.
When we are judged by our insides,
When we are no longer judged for being of white skin,
Or brown skin,
Or pale skin,
Or mixed skin.
Then, then we can
“Let freedom ring.”
When white boys and girls go to school with black girls and boys,
When we are no longer separate,
When we are no longer afraid to step outside.
When we let freedom ring we’ll,
“be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: 'Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, we are free at last.'”