Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
--Dr. Maya Angelou
Like the phoenix we rise
Out of Blackened ashes
A new nation, a new people
With sun-kissed skin strong like coffee
And hair defying the white man's gravity
Our backs no longer bearing white burdens
But carrying our fallen young brothers and sisters with us
As we fly into a world of our own
We speak their names
Say his name: Trayvon
Say her name: Aiyana
Say his name: Michael
Say her name: Renisha
Say his name: Tamir
We speak all of their names
So they will not be forgotten
But the white man is trying to keep us down
Tearing our wings right out of our backs
Ms. Simone said southern trees were bearing strange fruit
I didn't know what she meant until I saw them too
The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
Suddenly meant something totally new
Using our Black skin for target practice
First it was our men and then our babies
Now we have to watch our backs as we kneel before God on Sundays
Tearing our wings right out of our backs
Ms. Simone said southern trees were bearing strange fruit
I didn't know what she meant until I saw them too
The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
Suddenly meant something totally new
Using our Black skin for target practice
First it was our men and then our babies
Now we have to watch our backs as we kneel before God on Sundays
Negroes--Sweet and docile,
Meek, humble, and kind:
Beware the day--
They change their minds.
And we will rise
We will rise.
