A Long-Ago Perspective On Race
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By the way, 'long ago' in this poem is the early 1950's...
Close your eyes: Picture a long-ago time and place
When life was lived at a much slower pace
Think Deep South, small towns or big cities
Your lot in life there determined by race
Colored folks couldn't attend school with whites
Which often meant that their futures weren't bright
Couldn't eat with them, swim with them, use their restrooms
So many white folks just shrugged at their plight
And just as the schools were segregated
So too pro sports leagues were not integrated
Spawning the incomparable Harlem Globetrotters
Talented athletes with pennies compensated
Now open your eyes wide to America today
Where the black athlete dominates the field of play
From Serena Williams to Tiger Woods to LBJ (LeBron James)
What would all those folks from long ago say
Would they think that no progress' been made
When in politics black leaders burst through barricades
From Colin Powell to Barack Obama, tales of powerful drama
The rich and the mighty now come in all shades
Yet today the young say America's racist, oppressive
That the progress folks feel is an illusion, regressive
But if you ask those mythical visitors from long ago
From their point of view, it's quite impressive
Copyright © Gershon Wolf | Year Posted 2019
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