Soul force Over physical force Dignity and discipline Tackling the injustices Of bigotry and racism Tirelessly defending the oppressed Striving for equality and freedom Settling for nothing less Continually giving your all and best Prayerfully and prophetically You were divinely blessed To confront social unrest Within the black community Manifest the Negro revolution A coalition of conscience Mobilizing numerous protests Pioneering countless advancements Birthing a civil rights movement Affirmative action By vocalizing your dissatisfaction With the status quo Places blacks weren't allowed to go Designated places to sit on buses Segregated public schools and bathrooms White slave master violence mushroomed Lynching was the norm Yet you arose with a fury Like a God sent storm Declaring righteousness Revisiting precious values Rediscovering moral foundations From which America had departed Segregation the adultery of illicit intercourse Between injustice and immorality Sadly however most were content To dwell with it quietly Like an unchecked cancer gone ugly Leaving evil alive Confusing the true with the false America had given blacks An uncashed check The Declaration of Independence Was without complete enforcement The bank of justice Was bankrupt Brutal treatment Still existed Like quicksand Racial injustice persisted It was then Dr.
King boldly arose Confronting gross darkness With God's sovereign light To fight the good fight To make all wrongs right Laying aside comfort and convenience Preferring to awake national awareness Though your challenge brought controversy All progress is precarious As the solution to one problem Brings you face to face with another In the midst of such struggles Came forth your sisters and brothers Transforming neighborhoods Into brotherhoods Rejecting revenge, aggression, and retaliation Holding fast to love's eternal foundation Unarmed truth and unconditional love Marched on Freedom was spoken and heard in song A shining star Martin you burned on Declaring mankind's inalienable rights With all authority To bring about liberty Where the battle rages The loyalty of the soldier Is tested and proved Creative extremism To awake misguided men Guiding missiles To civilization's abrupt end The time is always right To do the right thing He who condones evil Is guilty like the perpetrator of it He who remains silent Endorses those who are violent Sincere ignorance And conscientious stupidity Equally ensure continuous hostility Self-consumption and worldly cares Have dulled our national conscience To the extent we personally don't care Insufficient in moral fortitude We erode from within Polluted by selfishness and sin Raising the standard Was the work of Martin Speaking the truth in Christ Without lies or spin Despite arrests, abuse and bombings You kept coming back for more Opening freedom's door Setting free a generation From racial segregation Bringing about social reformation And setting the table for unification Repositioning the focus Dr.
King you did help us To love ourselves and others To ask hard questions And respond with heart answers Paving a path To the Promised Land Where black and white children Can happily hold hands Knowing one another By the content of their character Rather than the color of their skin Liberation First comes from within Dr.
King you did triumphantly win Equality for all mankind A glorious emancipation.