A black man In the white house Over 1 million jailed By corporate America Land of the free A black man In the white house Over 2 million labeled felon Incarcerated by the crippling shackles Of the new slavery The new Jim Crow But tell me it’s not happening Tell me it's not so Tell me it's not happening Oh Jesus no A people chained Their dignity maimed By the collateral consequence of white indifference But what matters collateral What collateral settles the score? Collateral is the very essence of our war A war on drugs A war on terror For or against Against or for Oh, then I am resolutely against For this is the white wash The hemlock filled chalice Of consummate malice White, the iniquitous story White, the color of old glory White, the color of democracy White, the color of devast The black man, in the white house But what strange fruits What blood on the roots But here, a people Once torn from their Eden Now be stripped of their flesh Becoming invisible Disappeared Through the cowards expedience Of color-blindness And there But for the grace of god Whose face is painted white Go I Go you Go we The devilry lies in race The insidious deceit Of culture God bless America