You Can’t Keep a Black Man Down
You can’t keep a black man down
When confronted with an obstacle,
He will just go around
When they tried to break his spirit
He wasn’t having it
They tried to steal his pride
But they couldn’t take what was inside
They tried to take his history,
But they couldn’t take the story.
They tried to take his rights,
But he continued to fight.
They tried to steal his destiny,
But God wouldn’t let it be.
They tried to steal his hope,
But his faith was beyond their scope.
They hung him from a tree,
But he never stopped trying to be free
In spite of all that was done,
Like the morning sun,
He keeps rising to the top
He will never stop.
They said he would not survive,
But he is still alive.
You can’t keep a black man down
When confronted with an obstacle,
He will just go around.
.
They Endured
Through the degradation of slavery,
They endured.
Their lives were not their own,
But they endured.
When their families were ripped apart,
They endured.
Nothing broke their will.
Nothing broke their spirit.
Nothing broke their determination.
Through it all,
They endured.
We must remember their strength,
Their determination,
Through it all,
We must remember their strength,
Their determination,
Dwells within us.
Ever time we are paralyzed by fear,
Remember,
When we become weak,
Remember,
When we feel the desire to quit.
Remember,
Every time we grow discouraged
Remember.
Every time we are knocked to our knees.
Remember.
We must get up,
Stand up.
We can't surrender to defeat.
Stand on your feet.
Keep striving,
Keep believing.
Stand your ground,
Amidst strong winds,
Just like those to whom we are kin.
It is your duty and mine.
To leave something behind.
Because, through it all,
They endured.
They Endured is part of a collection of poems
from You Can Live Your Dreams published on Lulu.com
TO THE LEGENDS OF OUR PAST
To our ancestors,
Our spiritual intercessors,
To the legends of our pastThank you for allowing us to walk a clearer path.
As we travel the hallowed halls of time.
Memories of you always come to mind.
To the pioneers that blazed freedom’s trail,
That, through faith, prevailed.
To those such as Abraham Lincoln,
Who wrote proclamations,
Declarations
And Civil Rights Bills
Trying to cure society’s ills.
To those who fought to right the world’s wrongs,
To eradicate,
Racial injustice, bigotry and hate.
You sacrificed,
You paid the price.
To those who carried the burden of race.
Died for being in the wrong place.
To Martin and John,
Malcolm and Medgar,
To Rosa Parks
Who sparked
The flame igniting this country’s emancipation
From the bonds of discrimination.
To Jane Pittman,
Harriet Tubman,
W.E.B. Dubois and George Washington Carver,
To the firsts at schools such as Yale, West Point and Harvard,
To those who paid their dues trying to integrate segregated schools,
To our musicians who sang and played jazz, gospel and blues,
From Billie Holiday
To Cab Calloway,
Duke Ellington, Pearl Bailey, Louis Armstrong and Tommie Dorsey,
To Bo Jingles, the Nicholas Brothers, Sammie Davis Jr.
And all those who came into the back
To tap and perform their act.
To the pioneers of movies, television and radio.
To Hattie McDaniel, Eartha Kitt, Josephine Baker
And Lena Horn
That took America by storm
And paved the way for the Halle Berry’s
And Oprah Winfrey’s of today.
To those men who pioneered the fields of biology,
Geology and Astronomy.
To the legends of music, literature and poetry,
Without you there would be no record of our history.
To the legends that led this country in sports
Like football, baseball, basketball, boxing, track and on the courts,
To athletes like Arthur Ashe, Jesse Owens, Wilma Rudolph,
Jackie Robinson and to the Jack Jackson’s of our past
That taught us how to play with class.
To those for whom justice was blind.
To those who fought on the front lines and stepped on mines,
Commanded the sea and commandeered the skies.
To brave black men
Like the Tuskegee Air Men,
Who soared the clouds
And made us proud.
You sacrificed,
You paid the price.
We can never thank you enough.
No, we can never thank you enough.
To all those that died with unfulfilled dreams and wishes
Wanting to do more than clean toilets and wash dishes.
To my brother’s and sisters born on African soil
That died on slave ships and were thrown away with
America’s spoils.
To those who survived to be enslaved and chained,
Sold and renamed for America’s gain.
To those who awakened at the rooster’s crow
Working to repay a debt they never owed.
To the many slaves
Buried in unmarked graves.
To those who died hanging from a tree
Never knowing what it meant to be free.
From the great men to the unsung heroes
That this world will never know.
To the legends of our past,
Because of you the path is clearer,
The vision nearer
Than ever before.
You led us to the door.
Now our dreams are ours to conceive
Because of you we can believe.
You endure the pain
You suffered the blame.
We can never thank you enough.
No, we can never than you enough.
We celebrate your creativity
We thank you for our history.
To the legends of our past.
Thank you for creating a clearer path.
To the pioneers that blazed freedom’s trail
That through faith prevailed.
You sacrificed,
You paid the price.
We can never than you enough.
No we can never thank you enough.
To our ancestors,
Our spiritual intercessors,
To the legends of our past
Thank you for allowing us to walk a clearer path.