From the Town Hall meeting
At this evening's Town Hall meeting to discuss the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission's report on the Nov. 3, 1979, Klan-Nazi killings, several students from UNCG who have studied their report shared their responses to it in the form of poetry. One of the students, Alicia Sowisdral, gave me a copy of the text to post here. It is in sections, with each section having been written and recited by different students (identified at the end of each section); Sowisdral edited the overall work.
Lyrical Reflections of November 3rd, 1979
Compiled and Edited By Alicia Sowisdral
Life at the mill ain’t been no thrill
America’s part of the KKK and they’re ready to kill
we’re overworked and underpaid.
Lord knows there are some changes to be made
The bastards upstairs wont give us a break
They don’t realize our lives are at stake
This isn’t just about race it’s more about class
even these white workers are being treated like trash
We try to speak out and are seen as a threat
but if they think I’m gonna shut up
that’s something they can forget
they don’t want us meeting or putting up signs
but for them to rally against us is just fine
I don’t even know when things all fell apart
at what point did the inequality start
I’ll tell you what, if we’re going to be saved
lord knows there are some changes to be made
- By Shanell Shaw and Savon Williams
In 1863
Good ol’ Abe declared to givus us free
Which puts the years from now
To one hundred and forty-three
Since slavery ended, so it’s said…
So why is it that now
I can’t get ahead?
Don’t get it twisted
It wasn’t no moral change of heart
This was a time of war
And a political decision to mend
The schism
And to get applause from those abroad
The federacy
wanted slavery
and Reconstruction
Still enslaving the
Freedmen wanting
To be men
Wanting to vote and treated
As equal, then
Now
We back there again
Treated as a second class
Citizens
It’s ’79 tryna stay alive
Wit these wages
We sleeping in cages
Give me my damn money
You see we hungry!
LOOK at these racial disparities
Education, wages, housing, health care, insanity
Twice as many of us living below poverty
Why can’t we be what we wanna be?
When all we want to be is free…
- By Jeanna Covington
FREE to be a young black man
who can take a stand
without you assuming there’s a gun in my hand
they tell me speech is free?
well not for me
my words are interpreted by what you see
a criminal
a liar
a troublemaker
a threat
and I ain’t even said nothing yet
but I’m the one you love to hate
not an equal citizen but an enemy of the state
so I flip a table or throw a chair
what I gotta do for you to see me here?
embody the stereotype of anger and rage
just to play a part on Americas stage
where the stories that are told
depend on the power you hold
But changes gonna come
I’ll show you I am someone
Tired of being overlooked
It’s time we write our own history book
not just about black and white
this is a story of civil rights
the Truth is we deserve to be heard
even if you can’t understand a single word
- By Micheal Craig
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about race
and I’ve spent a lot of time lookin’ at my face
tryin’ to get past my skin
to find what’s within
and you think I don’t see
how your looking at me
thinking cause I’m white
I ain’t got no right
to speak to another
about these stupid assumptions we assign by color
I don’t need you to like me
I don’t need you to care
but I need for myself to make you aware
even if its just for this moment right now
your gonna listen while I lay it down
Death to Klan is the headline that ran
in every paper around town
they spoke of burning the klan to the ground
like the fiery crosses left on many a lawn
but theirs was a metaphor and institutional claim
not a reality where thousands were hanged
the klan and the nazis perpetuate hate
that’s a matter of fact not up for debate
their words are vicious their actions the same
torture and killing is how they play the game
see, meritocracy is a myth if you want to buy in
to this commodity culture were living in
don’t nobody start with the same fair chances
life is all about circumstances
most of are controlled by another
especially if you a person of color
-By Alicia Sowisdral
but there were a few
who knew what they had to do
lead, organize and educate the masses
time to transcend all social classes
so they took the road to china grove
with no thought of the consequences their future would hold
pointing the finger at working conditions
forcing people to see the problems in the system
In the fight for equality
Five were gunned down
You didn’t want to remember
So you rearranged the ground
And you say they weren’t victims
for choosing to be there
But I doubt they chose
which bullet to wear
Sandi, Cesar, Mike, Bill and Jim
they all believed this was fight we could win
But the Truth was concealed about the events of that day
A group of men and women acting in ignorant ways
And still many deny the reason why
I guess it’s easier to swallow a lie
The killers were tried but slapped on the hand
where was the justice promised from our great land?
Instead the story was twisted and called a shootout
That day the light in Greensboro’s hall of justice went out.
-By Jami Daniels
But here is hope if you can see
Americas just a baby democracy
there’s still much to be learned in the land of the free
and to be brave we must not fear reality
So what now?
We’re past the point of assigning blame
but no longer will we carry this shame
we want recognition and justice at last
the only way to evolve is to learn from the past
we cant turn back time we cannot undo
but we must continue to seek out the truth
we are asking the city to say it out loud
we’re SORRY for the innocent blood on the ground
we’re SORRY the police didn’t serve and protect
we’re SORRY they weren’t present that day
to protect the people and keep the klan away
let this tragedy birth a new life
one of fairness and equality instead of suffering and strife
let all city workers be paid a living wage
and encourage those filled with hatred to overcome their rage
let’s instill in the youth the integrity to do for yourself
without exploiting somebody else
so future generations can lay a new foundation
and continue to build a more just nation
-By Alicia Sowisdral
