Roshni

White Sheets

“I pray that God will bless you in everything that you do. I pray that you will grow intellectually so that you can understand the problems of the world and where you fit in that world picture… And I pray that all of the fear that has ever been in your heart will be taken out. And when you look at that man, if you know he's nothing but a coward, you won't fear him. If he wasn't a coward, he wouldn't gang up on you." - Malcolm X
(I know you’re to blame
I see you hiding behind your white sheets
I know you're hiding behind your white sheets)
"This is how they function, they function in mobs. That's a coward. They put on a sheet so you won't know who they are. That's a coward. The time will come when that sheet will be ripped off. If the federal government doesn’t take it off, we’ll take it off" - Malcolm X
(I know you’re to blame
I see you hiding behind your white sheets
I know you're hiding behind your white sheets)
In 1865, after the Civil War had ended,
slavery was finally abolished by the 13th Amendment
though it took time, millions of slaves had to be freed to be in compliance
outraged, the former Confederate states, acted in defiance
passing the “Black Codes” and these were the laws that reinstated
the oppression of the newly freed slaves of our nation
“people of color” was the phrase used by the laws to designate
anyone with even a drop of African blood running through their veins
“coloreds” had no rights, couldn’t vote, testify in court, or assemble
in public with one another without white supervision
it was a crime to even teach us simple things like how to read
and helping us organize to improve our conditions was a felony
2nd offense was execution, and if we were unemployed and homeless
we were arrested, fined, and forced to work to pay off the fine by going
back to the former slave owners, working as “servants” paid in pennies
though we were freed, our fight for equality was just beginning
Chorus
"And I pray that all of the fear that has ever been in your heart will be taken out. And when you look at that man, if you know he's nothing but a coward, you won't fear him. If he wasn't a coward, he wouldn't gang up on you." - Malcolm X
(I know you’re to blame
I see you hiding behind your white sheets
I know you're hiding behind your white sheets)
"This is how they function, they function in mobs. That's a coward. They put on a sheet so you won't know who they are. That's a coward. The time will come when that sheet will be ripped off. If the federal government doesn’t take it off, we’ll take it off" - Malcolm X
(I know you’re to blame
I see you hiding behind your white sheets
I know you're hiding behind your white sheets)
In 1868, the 14th Amendment gave equal rights to us all
but unwilling to give up their power, conservatives passed the Jim Crow laws
so instead of coming together, our nation went with Segregation
and for nearly 100 years we were separated by our races
calling it “separate but equal”, but it was legal discrimination
so us “coloreds” would know our places and keep us below the ones who’d enslaved us
and since white people owned most things, they banned us from their communities
we couldn’t work or shop at their stores, or go to their schools, or walk on their streets
and even if we would be allowed in their stores, we’d be forced to the back to eat
we couldn’t sit or meet or talk to them, and this was done legally
their politicians would isolate us in the poorest parts of town
keeping us trapped in poverty, police were present to keep us down
interracial dating was illegal, forbidden to let the races mix
the white woman would get beaten and the black man would get lynched
the white man would be accepted as long as he denied it and didn’t get married
while the black woman was a sex slave, and the mixed kids were rejected
can you imagine being a 2nd class citizen in your own country?!
being abused, raped, or lynched with no one to help cuz that’s how they wanted it
and things were about to get worse cuz in Pulaski, Tennessee
some former Confederate soldiers had started wearing their white sheets
Chorus
"And I pray that all of the fear that has ever been in your heart will be taken out. And when you look at that man, if you know he's nothing but a coward, you won't fear him. If he wasn't a coward, he wouldn't gang up on you." - Malcolm X
(I know you’re to blame
I see you hiding behind your white sheets
I know you're hiding behind your white sheets)
"This is how they function, they function in mobs. That's a coward. They put on a sheet so you won't know who they are. That's a coward. The time will come when that sheet will be ripped off. If the federal government doesn’t take it off, we’ll take it off" - Malcolm X
(I know you’re to blame
I see you hiding behind your white sheets
I know you're hiding behind your white sheets)
Out of all the white supremacist groups like the White League and the Red Shirts
the KKK, or Ku Klux Klan, wasn’t the first but they were the worst
wearing white robes and hoods, they’d harass and lynch dissenters
reaching their peak in 1924, with 6 million members
including 1/5 of Southern white males, with chapters all over the nation
they would claim that they controlled 24 state legislatures
they were lawyers, doctors, judges, and even business owners
but at night, they’d don their sheets and roam the streets awaiting their orders
targeting blacks and other minorities and whites that fought for equality
they worked with the Redeemers, making sure Segregation was policy
the “Mississippi Plan” was one of the ways they made it legal
in their churches, their members would preach that we were cursed to be unequals
so the majority believed them and condoned our vile mistreatment
killing Malcolm X’s father and countless local political leaders
for a century, burning crosses in our yards as intimidation
to this day there are “sundown towns” where minorities can’t even show our faces
now can you imagine fighting in World Wars, helping save Europe from Hitler
only to come home and be oppressed just because your skin is different?
over time, the public rejected them and their leaders knew they were through
so the former Klansmen traded their white sheets for business suits
Chorus
"And I pray that all of the fear that has ever been in your heart will be taken out. And when you look at that man, if you know he's nothing but a coward, you won't fear him. If he wasn't a coward, he wouldn't gang up on you." - Malcolm X
(I know you’re to blame
I see you hiding behind your white sheets
I know you're hiding behind your white sheets)
"This is how they function, they function in mobs. That's a coward. They put on sheets so you won't know who they are. That's a coward. The time will come when that sheet will be ripped off. If the federal government doesn’t take it off, we’ll take it off" - Malcolm X
(I know you’re to blame
I see you hiding behind your white sheets
I know you're hiding behind your white sheets)