I see by the papers
Where the NAACP
Is meeting down in Houston
And I’d like to be there to see
What they intend to do
In these trying times today
Cause we need to take some solid steps
To drive Jim Crow away.
We need a delegation to
Go see the President
And tell him from the shoulder
Just why we are sent:
Tell him we’ve heard his speeches
About Democracy—
But to enjoy what he’s talking about
What color must you be?
I’m cook or dishwasher in the Navy.
In the Marines I can’t be either.
The Army still segregates me—
And we ain’t run by Hitler neither
The Jim Crow car’s still dirty.
The color line’s still drawn.
Yet up there in Washington
They’re blowing freedom’s horn
The NAACP meets in Houston.
Folks, turn out in force
We got to take some drastic steps
To break old Jim Crow’s course.