Many Paid the Price

Look to your left - Look to your right Someone you’re looking at - Has paid the price Either personally - Or through past generations Yet still today, we have - Hurts and frustrations Pioneers of the land - The Marches that went forth For so many people - To be able to freely walk the earth Young people pick up a book - Earn some knowledge Get off the street corners - And into classrooms of a University or College Pay it forward - Give it back Education is key - Its not whack Learn your heritage - From where you come Know that this is - God’s home Past struggles - Present issues Hold your head high - Keep working toward your vision There is something I don’t understand - Through every thing in the past Why do our young brother’s - Kill one another How can you look into the eyes - Of another human being Pull the trigger - How can you be so mean? Our people along with other races - Fought for our rights To be able to live a fair life - I can’t fathom the reasoning of this strife So many killings - Day after day Brother killing brother - This just isn’t the way Too many people have died - And sometimes it seems in vain Because what we see on the news everyday or experience in life Is completely insane! Can someone explain to me - The mindset of our youth I’m perplexed - So I’m looking for the truth Why is there genocide? - So many homicides And there is no hesitation - About the lives being taken It angers my heart - It angers my soul That people can so easily kill - That people are so bold People listen to me - When I tell you The Civil Rights Movement - Was to see us through To get us to a better place - Although discrimination and racism still exists It is very prevalent - With the Jena 6 Gang violence has taken the life - Of an innocent 10-year old boy My prayers go out to the family - Of little Arthur Jones Gun shots ring out - Now 14-year old Samuel is dead Gun man came back in anger over a bike - And shot this young man in the head! I lost my own brother this year (2007) - Because of senseless gun violence And it’s getting worse too - R.I.P. little bro, we love you Cinque U.S. Troops fighting a War - Overseas in Iraq Make no mistake about it - Many have paid the price IT IS TIME to walk through the door - Of a brand new light We are a powerful people - When we stand together and fight Not fight as in violence - But to have regard for human life Never forgetting - Many paid the price