Ramilee Miller �1992
I grew up in Harlem during the 50's and 60's, the very hub of Negro ife
An only child in a two parent home, I was carefree, I knew no strife.
Does it bother you....that term Negro? Well, that's what we were called back then.
Later "Colored", then "Black" and finally someone came up with "African-American"
We moved to Harlem when I was eight....it was a wonderful place to live
Filled with famous faces, culture galore.....the best that life had to give
There were beautiful buildings and brownstones, like those on "Striver's Row"
And 125th Street near 8th Avenue, the birthplace of stars, the Apollo
It wasn't a ghetto, no abandoned buildings, no garbage-strewn empty lots
The streets were clean and the windowsills were lined with flower pots
There was no graffiti, no junked cars, and everyone felt safe on the street
There was music and artists and children's laughter and the cops still walked the beat
Then came the sixties and the "Black Revolution" and the sit-ins and demonstrations
It was "Power to the People" and the Black Panthers, and for the Whites, "The Beat Generation"
There was Angela Davis, the Soledad Brothers and also Eldridge Cleaver
The world as I knew was changing around me while I watched "Leave it to Beaver"
One day as I was walking past the mosque on 116th Street
My ears perked up as I realized I was about to be in for a treat
There was this lanky man with kinky red hair and glasses on a freckled face
His voice was so charismatic, so forceful, yet so filled with grace
He was so full of conviction and with a strength you couldn't help but hear
The ironic truth behind every word which he spoke as if in your ear.
He spoke of the injustices done to our people, that began hundreds of years ago
He told us that progress was indeed being made, but that it was going far too slow
He compared us to the Negro slaves that worked in the home and the field
He repudiated the "Uncle Toms" and implored the rest of us not to yield
"By any means necessary", he shouted out as the crowds would yell and cheer
And when the mounted police came with billy clubs, not a single soul retreated in fear
Although it's true Malcolm made many mistakes (he was wrong to commit a crime)
Ironically, it was there he found his calling while serving out his time
By the time he got out, his life had changed and he became a minister for Elijah Muhammad
Their relationship and developed to that of similar to a son and his dad
He dropped his last name, which had been "Little" and replaced it with an "X"
He adapted the laws laid down in the Holy Quran, including abstinence from unmarried sex
Then along came Betty Sanders, who also adopted the religion of Islam
And Malcome took notice of not only her outer beauty, but her strength and her wisdom
They soon became the Shabazz's and found happiness just being together
They thought that there was no kind of storm that their love could not weather.
In the beginning Malcolm called all White people "the devil" and "the enemy"
But after making Hajj (the required pilgrimage to Mecca) he finally came to see
That the color of a man's skin did not dictate his character or worth
And that Allah had seen fit to put all shades of man upon his beloved earth
From the palest albino to darkest Ethiopian they came with just one goal
To pay homage to their God Allah, and to spiritually become whole
This changed Malcolm's whole perspective, so he came back to let us know
That we all must stop the senseless hatred in order for us to grow.
The futility of it all became apparent when the threats started coming
That final walk into the Audobon Ballroom was done amidst the whispered humming
That fatal day, February 5, 1965, Malik El Shabazz was forever silenced
By a hail of bullets that snuffed out his life....a life tragically lost to violence
And like with Dr. Martin Luther King we'll never know just where we'd be today
Had they had lived to see their visions come to fruition and they hadn't been taken away
But am I missing something here, or am I just plain dumb?
Sure I can ride the front of the bus when I need to go someplace
But taxicabs still pass me, and all because of my race
Shopkeepers love when I spend my money, but they haven�t learned to trust me
They still have detectives follow me around in the hopes that they will bust me
And though my son is a college grad and has a wonderful career
If he were to stroll through Howard Beach, the residents would cringe in fear
And although I know that fear is what their ignorance is all about
I still get angry when I am stared at and treated like a lout
We still can�t get promotions like some other people can
But this is just a common plight for the average Black man
Slavery supposedly was abolished, yet they still overwork us
We�re hired last and fired first, they are constantly trying to jerk us
It doesn�t even seem to stem from what we have or have not done
But it proves that many ofour struggles have only just begun
There are some who might complain that we are just disgruntled whiners
But look at all those jail cells filled with convicted, yet innocent minors
Oh sure, they are not all angels, many have committed a crime
But some have not, yet because of their color, they are bound to serve some time
Atrocities have been done to others who say to "NEVER FORGET"
Yet we should let bygones be bygones and change our whole mindset
And maybe the beatings and lynchings have become a lot less prevalent
But the ku klux klan is alive and well, and that, my friends, is relevant
They still wear sheets and spread their hatred and light their giant crosses
And the Black community is still trying to understand and cope with its losses
The public schools have given up. Chaos and violence is on the rise
The government seems to just not care; they continue to close their eyes
I wonder what Dr. King would be saying if he were alive today...
Would he just have given up and let the chips fall where they may?
Or would he have still been marching; fighting for equal rights?
Yes, equal not more, just equality for all people, not just whites
He spread the message loud and clear of what he wanted for us
And I don`t believe it was just for the right to ride in the front of the bus!
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