Good Trouble
John Lewis said Good Trouble’s
Needed when actions aren’t fair
When justice is denied,
And life deals more than we can bear,
When the folks who own the power
Pretend they listen but don’t care
When our leaders choose to dismiss
Our “it’s time for equality” prayers
So they can maintain a racial abyss
That’s when we need to make Good Trouble.
To achieve what must be done
You can’t turn the world to rubble
We learned peaceful is the best way
So we got into Good Trouble.
We sat in when justice demanded
To bring inequity to the fore
Just as we sat at lunch counters
So many times before
We walked across a bridge
As part of a righteous Corps
Seeking what we had a right to
Nothing less but nothing more
And when it was needed
We sat in Congress on the floor
Cause we needed to create Good Trouble
To achieve what must be done
You can’t turn the world to rubble
We learned peaceful is the best way
So we got into Good Trouble.
When we cried out you need to listen
And the response was throwing us in jail
We sat there praying they’d hear us
We refused to have our efforts fail,
And time after time we sat in
The belly of the great White whale
That’s when we needed to make Good Trouble.
When change was needed
But not forthcoming, we said
Justice is needed on the double,
And when they yelled their taunts
And said we weren’t worthy
We sought to burst their bubble
We took the worst they had
Their curses and their beatings
As we created Good Trouble.
To achieve what must be done
You can’t turn the world to rubble
We learned peace is the best way
So we got into Good Trouble.
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