Does Black History Month mean as much as it once did?
Why should we be Compartmentalized
Into a month of Generalized concepts
Is that all we have left?
A continuously shortened list of “We did that,” and “We did this”
While our youth grows out of touch with past things our forefathers accomplished
Aren’t we more than one month?
A twenty-eight day shortened month
Where highlights of past plights doesn’t mean as much
Repeated and televised into sixty-second sound bites
Or one hundred forty social media characters
By a conscious few trying to do right
While our youths of today are struggling against authority
Shot dead in the streets…while being treated abhorrently
Is all we have to offer are the echoes of past dreams
Dreams destined to become reality at the hands of lost screams
Will our “ancestor’s cry” be heard above the roar
Of “Black Lives Matter,” or vigilantes settling a score
Or the hundreds of lives snuffed out by the system
…A growing number so large we can’t even list them
Will “Black History Month” ever mean as much as it once did
While the system hides behind the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr.
Instead of confronting today’s bid
We’re losing our kids
While being demeaned by “serve and protect” overlords
Who avoid and neglect the people’s voice
If not an everyday platform, we need a “Black Future Month”
To guide us into tomorrow…and help us when we’re stumped
To tell us when we’re stagnant and have forgotten our direction
To lead us along our path in formulating self-protections
Our youth need to know we hear their voices, today
Our past may be a guide, but we don’t live our lives that way
Why should we be Compartmentalized
Into a month of Generalized concepts
Is that all we have left?
A continuously shortened list of “We did that,” and “We did this”
While our youth grows out of touch with past things our forefathers accomplished
Aren’t we more than one month?
A twenty-eight day shortened month
Where highlights of past plights doesn’t mean as much
Repeated and televised into sixty-second sound bites
Or one hundred forty social media characters
By a conscious few trying to do right
While our youths of today are struggling against authority
Shot dead in the streets…while being treated abhorrently
Is all we have to offer are the echoes of past dreams
Dreams destined to become reality at the hands of lost screams
Will our “ancestor’s cry” be heard above the roar
Of “Black Lives Matter,” or vigilantes settling a score
Or the hundreds of lives snuffed out by the system
…A growing number so large we can’t even list them
Will “Black History Month” ever mean as much as it once did
While the system hides behind the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr.
Instead of confronting today’s bid
We’re losing our kids
While being demeaned by “serve and protect” overlords
Who avoid and neglect the people’s voice
If not an everyday platform, we need a “Black Future Month”
To guide us into tomorrow…and help us when we’re stumped
To tell us when we’re stagnant and have forgotten our direction
To lead us along our path in formulating self-protections
Our youth need to know we hear their voices, today
Our past may be a guide, but we don’t live our lives that way
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