Veterans of the Civil Rights Movement

Poems by LuLu Westbrook Griffin

Americus, Georgia in Sixty Three
Memories of The Stockade
Po' Man
Be
Move On
Smile
Faith
Justice Let it Stand
Once Upon a Time
Martin L. King & Elvis, The "KING" Of ROCK
Struttin' Right Up
Discrimination Among Coloreds/Blacks the Shade of Skin Tone

AMERICUS, GEORGIA IN SIXTY THREE

Americus,Georgia in sixty three
There were obvious signs of bigotry,
Laws of Segregation were everywhere
White Supremacist Groups did not care.
The hatred they had for People of colour
Was blantant and vicious,
Toward my little sisters and brothers.

There were perpetrators, spectators,
Instigators, violators, Vigilantes, Agitators,
KKKS and NEGRO haters.
We marched with our Placards
And sang The FREEDOM Songs,
We were beaten and jailed
while making History at home.
Many fought for their freedom
to change the JIM CROW LAWS,
Now AMERICUS has signs of "LIBERTY"
And no more Segregated walls.

[See Americus GA Movement & "Seditious Conspiracy" for background history.]

MEMORIES OF THE STOCKADE

O wretched place of fear, so cold i found
It taught me hope while peace abound
Faith gave me a prayer and broght me strength
Although the joy renewed my mind.
O I thought of times when i cried
O help me for you are my Guide,
Then peace came so deep within
And I could sing and smile again.
Days and years has passed since then
But it's WisdomYou give and Grace you send,
And it's You who made the change in me
Regardles of my part in AMERICUS' History!

[See Georgia on My Mind: The Leesburg Stockade for photos and background on the "stolen girls" imprisoned in the Leesburg stockade.]

PO' MAN

Po' man from down yonder
They say, "you don't fit in".
Yore clothes iz tattered rags
Does that mean, ya' done sin?
Tis' like a curse on ....you
Seems like ain't no hope,
Yore po' English usage
Makes ya' sound like a,"Dope".
Hard times came yore way
More times than not,
Po' Man self esteem is gone
But Hope is all ya' got.
Ain't no body here to
look out fur' ya',
Guess ya' gotta look
Out fur' yoreself.
Dem dar' tattered ole clothes
Don't say much fa anyone
Hold yore head up high (and)
See what yur've done! Ya' came from Great Kings
Po' Man, this ya'll should know,
Whether yall from way down yonder
Or from the State of OHIO.
Tain't no lazy gals here no mo',
They all went dancin' down by the sho're.

I never resented sound Truth
Where Parents and Teachers met
All the values and principles instilled
In Me, I won't ever forget.
"You can be anything
You want to be"
Was all I ever heard
No matter how tough
My classes seemed
That was my Teachers favorite word.
Often, mom would say
In words so soft to Me
"My dear daughter girl, you
Can Be, whatever you want to Be."
"Not only because in America
You can see what you want to see,"
But what more importantly
In our Democracy is,
You can Be what you choose to Be!

MOVE ON

Tis' ain;t no times for laffin'
So change da' silly smirk,
Ain't no need ta' set down
Cuz' standin' den't work.
Put yore hearts together now
Y'all know whot y'all been tole,
Sho' some respect fur the elderly,
Our Colored Folk of ole.
Y'all ain't used ta' weren' them Britches
Who ya'll trying ta' fool,
So put down them guns, And hurry back to School.
Re'member whar ya' come from
Tis' ain't been dat' long,
So clean up yore act, child
And get a brand new song.
Re'spect yoreself furst
Or ain't no body els will,
Put down them dar drugs,
And give da' streets a chill
So set yoreself a goal,...now
Tis' ain't no time ta' waste,
Cum' own Sustas, cum' own brothus
And let us all make haste.

[This one is written with the Southern slang way of talking back in the day, because of poor Language usage ... during the '30s, '40s, because of The Jim Crow Laws and how they mimiced the poor colored people. ~ LuLu Griffin]

SMILE

I think I'll grin
Oh no!
Maybe, I will Smile
But only for a little while,
Oh well!
Perhaps, I'll laugh
Out loud,
Who will see my Smile?
Who will hear my laugh?
Who will know
Why I feel this inside
Giggle wants to grow? Into a Smile.

FAITH

Faith is like a Farmer
Who plants his seeds so deep,
Faith is hoping The sunand rain
Will bring a Harvest to reap.
Faith brings another day to him
He's up at he crack of dawn,
Planting more seeds to harvest
Before the morning sun.
Faith is like the mid-night
That reaches for the morn,
Faith is like the Rooster
Which crows before the dawn.
Faith is like a full Moon
That brightens the darkest night,
Faith is the Substance of things hoped for,
That will guide us to the Light.

JUSTICE LET IT STAND

Justice let it stand
Like a wild fire
From Country to Country
Should be a Man's desire.
Let it roll down
In every Town and Valley
Let it be shown on
Stree, Lane and Alley
Let it wipe outevery unkind act,
Putting love firstly
to make an impact.
let it roll down
like a River or Stream
Remembering that Speech
Of Dr. King's "I have a Dream"

ONCE UPON A TIME

Once upon a time
In the Hometown of mine
During the early Sixties;was hatred,bigotry
And Crime.
The Law said:
Colours: were Black
And White people
Governed by JIM CROW Laws
All separated by train tracks
Without any real cause.
There was tension in the air
Separation and Segregationists
Were evey where
Through signs of despair
Sadness and gloom
New hope and bright future
was about to bloom.

MARTIN L. KING & ELVIS, The "KING" Of ROCK

What a memory! What a memory!
     Could it be that bad?
Some may say, "it's History"
Others may say it is "sad".
It's about these two great people
     Where one life begin,
and about the other one
     Whose life came to a tragic end.
In the City named "Memphis"
     These two named Elvis and Martin.
One was titled 'king' and one was named King.
     These two are not forgotten.
In the month of April each year,
     Elvis and Martin are celebrated,
This one we can all understand,
     So long lived the "KINGS" in History
We, (all) share respect and dedicate it to
     Those who left their lasting music
     Liberty, and freedom in our land.

STRUTTIN' RIGHT UP

Old sassy colored girl
with your skin so fair
and your red ruby lips
has a luscious flare.
Yore' large round eyes
with a piercing glare,
Yore' chocolate brown legs
Struttin' here n' there.
Hey face the facts, sister
with yore' full bod,
It's very sensuous and sassy
Makes many heads nod.
Yore' honey dip chocolate
Yore' brown bronze glow,
Old sassy colored girl
you got it going on, you know!

DISCRIMINATION AMONG COLOREDS/BLACKS
THE SHADE OF SKIN TONE

Help me my sisters and brothers
We (all) are KEEPERS OF EACH OTHER
GOD MADE US, OUR SHAPES ANS SIZES,
Light , Black,Chocolate and Brown.
There is no time for envy nor strife
Eveyone has got to be nice,
Brown skin, co-co and dark
Almost white, lightrt than black
was not anyone's choice.
Let us put aside Pride and Jealousy,
We (all) are one flesh and CREATED TO BE FREE.
It is GOD that matters, you know,
The more we care our spirits will show,
there shouldn't be hatred, jealousy nor malice,
The burdened Cross of love is our to carry.