{THE LONG VERSION}
Stand up
My bruthaz and sistahz
Hear the roar of our forefather’s drumbeat
Feel the rage in your foremother’s womb
At being used and abused
Whenever ‘massah’ chose to do
‘His do’
Stand up
Listen to the echo of
Long ago tragedies…and miseries
Of slavery mentalities
Daring us to (WANT TO) be free
Stand up
This is not a popularity contest
In which I profess to
Patronize the white man
By choosing a sanitized...
…neutralized stand
I’m a man
I speak truths
And tell righteous stories
Of past glories
In distant lands
Come
Journey the wilderlands of Africa
Swim the rivers, Nile and Euphrates
Signifying the greatness WE be
Like Noah…and Abraham
We have a history beyond
You and me
Beyond light filaments
And blood plasma
Beyond seven hundred years
Transplanted…against our will
Transgressed by hatred and disgust
And all the blood, sweat, and lives given
From birth ‘til dust
Yes…
Our history predates this
…this country ‘tis of thee
Land of my foreParent’s grief
Bruthaz and Sistahz bleeding liberty
Think back…
Before 1492
And the agonies we’ve suffered
Because of you…you
(Euro)Caucasians…of the White persuasion
Before Juneteenth
And July 4th
Before Martin was assassinated
For seeing the mountain top
While trying to overcome
Water hosing cops
And bottle throwing red necks
Who were too ignorant to know better
And too arrogant to care
Before Malcolm
And “by any means necessary”
Before the land of
Blood shed
That they call free
Warriors roamed the lands
Setting the stage for
Wooly hair and ebony hue
Short…tall
Skinny…fat
Trimmed to fit
And muscular, too
Stand up
Feel the pressures of
Seven hundred years
Lifted from your shoulders
And know that
There is none bolder
…stronger
…prouder
Than my sistahz and bruthaz
Of the
“Ebony Hue”
Our history predates
The ghetto wars
The civil wars
Even the world wars
Before The Black Panthers
And the raised fist of
Black Power
And every hour since Adam and Eve
Thrust their seed into Darkness
WE ARE…the original man
Stand Up.
Our history starts with
Adam and Eve
Amid gardens and trees
{serpents fool us with ease (it seems)
yeah…that was us
and we still have snakes in our gardens}
Why are White folk so afraid of us?
Because they know our history.
God said to Adam and Eve
~A Black Man and Woman~
“…You will have dominion
Over all the inhabited earth…”
Such is our history
Our birth
STAND UP.
Stand up
My bruthaz and sistahz
Hear the roar of our forefather’s drumbeat
Feel the rage in your foremother’s womb
At being used and abused
Whenever ‘massah’ chose to do
‘His do’
Stand up
Listen to the echo of
Long ago tragedies…and miseries
Of slavery mentalities
Daring us to (WANT TO) be free
Stand up
This is not a popularity contest
In which I profess to
Patronize the white man
By choosing a sanitized...
…neutralized stand
I’m a man
I speak truths
And tell righteous stories
Of past glories
In distant lands
Come
Journey the wilderlands of Africa
Swim the rivers, Nile and Euphrates
Signifying the greatness WE be
Like Noah…and Abraham
We have a history beyond
You and me
Beyond light filaments
And blood plasma
Beyond seven hundred years
Transplanted…against our will
Transgressed by hatred and disgust
And all the blood, sweat, and lives given
From birth ‘til dust
Yes…
Our history predates this
…this country ‘tis of thee
Land of my foreParent’s grief
Bruthaz and Sistahz bleeding liberty
Think back…
Before 1492
And the agonies we’ve suffered
Because of you…you
(Euro)Caucasians…of the White persuasion
Before Juneteenth
And July 4th
Before Martin was assassinated
For seeing the mountain top
While trying to overcome
Water hosing cops
And bottle throwing red necks
Who were too ignorant to know better
And too arrogant to care
Before Malcolm
And “by any means necessary”
Before the land of
Blood shed
That they call free
Warriors roamed the lands
Setting the stage for
Wooly hair and ebony hue
Short…tall
Skinny…fat
Trimmed to fit
And muscular, too
Stand up
Feel the pressures of
Seven hundred years
Lifted from your shoulders
And know that
There is none bolder
…stronger
…prouder
Than my sistahz and bruthaz
Of the
“Ebony Hue”
Our history predates
The ghetto wars
The civil wars
Even the world wars
Before The Black Panthers
And the raised fist of
Black Power
And every hour since Adam and Eve
Thrust their seed into Darkness
WE ARE…the original man
Stand Up.
Our history starts with
Adam and Eve
Amid gardens and trees
{serpents fool us with ease (it seems)
yeah…that was us
and we still have snakes in our gardens}
Why are White folk so afraid of us?
Because they know our history.
God said to Adam and Eve
~A Black Man and Woman~
“…You will have dominion
Over all the inhabited earth…”
Such is our history
Our birth
STAND UP.