What Burden

I sing because I'm happy, I sing because I'm free
Because the burden of slavery is no longer on me
I've seen the thunder and the rain
But like a plant outside, only growth I've gained

Stopped by the police, he just wanted to see
What a black man was doing in a Grand Marquis
Was reaching for my insurance, he said it was a gun
Just a book about black man's struggle he had overcome

But see, he thought I was scared and wanted to hide
But I sat in my driver's seat with all of my pride
He couldn't get me mentally, so he drove away
Yeah I' black, and my car came from a mom who would pray

See these statistics say black males just fight, kill and fail
Do a poll on me, guarantee you'll change ideals of a black male
See you think my emotions are bursting at the seams
But I'm not an idealist, I'm a realist with dreams

My intelligence is leaving you scared, putting you in fear
Yeah I said it, didn't Tyson your ear so I know you could hear
The past is the past, back then they'd have to fight
But I don't have to cause I was born with rights

America loves to call black dads deadbeats
But can't acknowledge the ones finding their kids food to eat
My black mama did it on her own and never had to steal
And made sure me and my sister always had a meal

The first male in my family to go to college for a degree
Yeah look passed the nappy hair and beard before analyzing me
Been passing racial slurs generation to generation, it's time for an interference
Cause I'm not a colored man, I'm a man with a different appearance

Yeah Dr. King fought for me and other blacks
But he's gone now, so I don't need his actions on my back
Don't read me wrong, I'm thankful for what he did
But integration is wide open and segregation has a closed lid

These old racists need to go and plead the fifth
So that future kids can see racism as just a myth
Let this grudge end and just live your life
Cause you're only stabbing the Constitution with a knife

Thank you for the slurs, lynchings and KKK
Cause now you're all too tired to block the future so get out of our way
My father in heaven made me, so I was meant to black
He instilled wisdom in me, while you're intelligence slacks

So please tell me what burden do I have to bear
Success is my future and now you're in a scare
My light beams bright as the sun, you're unlit
Struggles are done, I'm hear to stay so deal with it

http://soundcloud.com/abraham-t-shaw/what-burden