Anne Braden

[Anne Braden] What I've realized since is that it's a very painful process but it is not destructive It's it's the road to liberation And what really happened in the 60's was that this country took just the first step Toward admitting that it had been wrong on race And creativity burst out in all directions [Verse One] From the color of the faces in Sunday songs To the hatred they raised all their youngsters on Once upon a time in this country, long ago She knew there was something wrong Because the song said "Yellow, red, black and white Every one precious in the path of Christ" But what about the daughter of the woman cleanin their house? Wasn't, she a child they were singin about? And if Jesus loves us black and white - skin Why didn't her white mother invite them in? When did it become a room for no blacks to step in? How did she already know not to ask the, question? Left lasting impressions Adolescent's comfort's gone She never thought things would ever change But, she always knew there was something wrong [Hook] She always knew there was somethin wrong She always knew there was somethin wrong [Verse Two] Years later, she found herself Mississippi bound to help Stop the legalized lynching of Mr. Willie McGee; but they couldn't stop it So they thought that they'd talk to the governor about what happened And say "We're tired of being used as an excuse to kill black men" But the cops wouldn't let 'em past And these women, they struck 'em as uppity So they hauled 'em all off to jail And they called it protective custody Then from her cell she heard her jailers grumblin about "outsiders" When she called 'em out and said she was from the South, they shouted "Why is a nice, Southern lady makin trouble for the governor?" She said, "I guess I'm not your type of lady, and I guess I'm not your type of Southerner But before you call me traitor, well it's plain as just to say I was a child in Mississippi but I'm ashamed of it today" [Hook] - 2X [Anne Braden] And all of a sudden I realized that I was on the other side [Verse Three] Imagine the world that you're standin within All of your neighbors and family friends How would you cope, facin the fact The flesh on their hands, was tainted with sin? She faced this, every day People she saw on a regular basis People she loved, in several cases People she knew were incredibly racist It was painful, but she never stopped lovin them Never stopped callin their names And she never stopped being a Southern woman And she never stopped fighting for change And she saw that her struggle was in the tradition of ancestors never aware of her It continues today; the soul of a Southerner, born of the other America [Hook] - 2X [Anne Braden] What you win in the immediate battles is Is little compared to the effort you put into it But if you see that as a part of this total movement to build a new world You know what could be when you dare to put your stone in You do have a choice! You don't have to be a part of the world of the lynchers You can... join the other America There is another America~!