To Be Young, Gifted and Black (Nina Simone)

To be young, gifted and black,
Oh what a lovely precious dream
To be young, gifted and black,
Open your heart to what I mean

In the whole world you know
There are billion boys and girls
Who are young, gifted and black,
And that’s a fact!

You are young, gifted and black
We must begin to tell our young
There’s a world waiting for you
This is a quest that’s just begun

When you feel really low
Yeah, there’s a great truth you should know
When you’re young, gifted and black
Your soul’s intact

Young, gifted and black
How I long to know the truth
There are times when I look back
And I am haunted by my youth

Oh but my joy of today
Is that we can all be proud to say
To be young, gifted and black
Is where it’s at!


A Change Is Gonna Come (Sam Cooke)

I was born by the river in a little tent
Oh and just like the river I've been running ever since
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

It's been too hard living but I'm afraid to die
Cause I don't know what's up there beyond the sky
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

I go to the movie and I go downtown
somebody keep telling me don't hang around
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

Then I go to my brother
And I say brother help me please
But he winds up knockin' me
Back down on my knees

Ohhhhhhhhh.....

There been times that I thought I couldn't last for long
But now I think I'm able to carry on
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

When Will We Be Paid (The Staple Singers)

When will we be paid for the work we’ve done
When will we be paid for the work we’ve done

We worked this country
From shore to shore
Our women cooked all your food
And washed all your clothes
We picked cotton and laid the railroad steel
Worked our hands down to the bone at your lumber mill

When will we be paid for the work we’ve done
When will we be paid for the work we’ve done

Fought in your wars, in every land
To keep this country free, y’all
For women, children, and men
But anytime we ask for pay or a loan
That’s when everything seems to turn out wrong
We’ve been beat up, called name, shot down, and stoned
Every time we do right, somebody say we’re wrong

When will we be paid for the work we’ve done
When will we be paid for the work we’ve done

Oh, oh when, when will we be paid ?
We’ve given up our sweat, now

And all of our tears
Stumbled through this life

For more than 300 years
I, I wanna know, the work we’ve done
When will be paid for the work we’ve done

Tell me
When will we be paid for the work we’ve done
When will we be paid for the work we’ve done

Will we ever be proud
Of "My country, tis of thee"
Will we ever sing out loud
Sweet land of Liberty

When will we be paid
For the work we’ve done

When will we be paid for the work we’ve done
When will we be paid for the work we’ve done