You'll see a green painted sign
On the road into town
Sayin' "Get your black ass out
Before the sun goes down"
Them's just the rules
If your skin is brown
In the home of the brave
And the free
A street in Boston's stained
With Negro blood
And Tuskegee men fought
The war from above
Still can't marry the
White girl that you love
In the home of the brave
And the free
Schools, books and playgrounds
Separate and unequal
Kill a black man --
It ain't quite illegal
Hell, you know black folk
They ain't even people
In the home of the brave
And the free
The grass and dirt
Are black and scarred
From the cross they burned
In the front yard
Findin' bravery and freedom
Can be so hard
In the home of the brave
And the free
Fifty years later
And racism's dead
But if a black man says
The same things MLK said
White folks on TV
Will still call for his head
In the home of the brave
And the free.