I Am a Black Man. Walking (c) 2008
Selected Verses
Wayne Dan Lewis, Sr.
I am a Black Man. Walking without a country to love, or a country to be loved by.
Laws are written with me in mind, to reduce me, limit me, disenfranchise me, or to remove me from society.
I am second-choice, second-class, second-rate, second-guessed. I am an afterthought, last choice, least likely, unknown, a number, a statistic, a John Doe.
And, as I walk, I must prepare, get ready, make plans, direct, But I must never forget, that I am a Black Man. Walking.
Look at me, my pants below my ass.People stare me as I pass. They don't know me, they don't care. They just know me by the way I wear my hair.
Yes, I sit on the corners of America, with my bottle of beer and wine. Discussing and cussing, passing away the time. I may have lost my job, my family, but not my dignity. But you will not succeed as long you deny what you have done to me, A Black man. Walking.
"Empty your pockets, boy!" "What's that you carrying?"
"LOOK OUT, HE'S GOTTA GUN!"
"BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
BANG! BOOM! BOOM! BANG! BANG!
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
BANG! BANG! BOOM! BANG! BANG!
BANG! BANG! BOOM! BANG! BANG!
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
BANG! BOOM! BANG! BANG! BANG
BANG! BANG! BOOM! BANG! BANG!
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
BANG! BANG! BOOM! BOOM! BANG!"
"He was unarmed?"
"I thought he had a gun!"
"Looks like he was going for something!"
I was unarmed, but dangerous.
I was unarmed, but you were justified.
CASE CLOSED!
Why? Because I was a Black Man. Walking.
How many more will be a Black Man? Walking.
"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney, or one will be appointed to you before trial. Do you understand these rights as I have explained them to you? Well, do you?, Or, do I have any rights at all, as a Black Man. Walking?

"A Black for President?" "Of the United States?"
"That'll be the day!" "Not in my lifetime", I heard so many say.
Where I have walked, children forsake their education.Unless we save them, they are headed for total annihilation. They know violence and death on a personal level. To change their fate, I will need to take on the devil.
For as I walk, I look around and I see, Fewer, and fewer brothers that look like me. They're killing one another, Brother to brother, shaming your mother.
But not to be dismayed, the brothers that remain maybe few. For together, as blood brothers, this is what we must do: We must walk, together. Pray, together. Work, together. Stand, together. Fight, together. Think, together. Lead, together. Follow, together. Educate, together. Fatherhood, together. Brotherhood, together. Agree, together. Disagree, together. Step up, together. Rise up, together. Vote, together. Make mistakes, together. Grow, together. Spread God's Word, together. Raise our children, together. Respect our women, together. Pay the price, together.
For I am a Black Man. Walking.