Southern Negro Speaks

I reckon they must have
Forgotten about me
When I hear them say they gonna
Save Democracy.
Funny thing about white folks
Wanting to go and fight
Way over in Europe
For freedom and light
When right here in Alabama—
Lord have mercy on me—
They declare I’m a Fifth Columnist
If I say the word, Free.
Jim Crow all around me.
Don’t have the right to vote.
Let’s leave our neighbor’s eye alone
And look after our own mote—
Cause I sure don’t understand
What the meaning can be
When folks talk about freedom—
And Jim Crow me?