THE STRUGGLE

I look upon the ocean and see the freedom that is there,
But I'm chained in these shackles and for that I can only stare.
I was stripped of my land and my culture too
So that I could learn about nothing but you.

You've stolen my people to embark on a trip
when my people didn't listen you use your whip.
You kept us enslaved to keep us down,
Because you only wanted whites to control your town.

We overcame that struggle and we taught ourselves.
We read any and every book that we saw on the shelves.
When you heard of this you didn't know what to do,
Because it was too late, we were coming for you.

Abraham Lincoln set forth the Emancipation Proclamation,
But people didn't understand it's real summation
It was to set some free and keep some enslaved,
He would not let us all go because he was not that brave.

As time went on, my people still had to fight,
But as strong black people we learned to unite.
I'm a man that has acquired great knowledge.
And it will pay off, for my child will go to college.
In today's society we still have to grow,
But if we learn to stick together there's no telling how far we can go!

EDUCATION=KNOWLEDGE+ACTION=POWER

Lamont E. Thomas
Spring'93 Zeta Lambda Chapter
Alumni-University of New Haven

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