That helping hand
Black affluence ... Black homeowners ...
Black-owned banks ... Black Wall Street —
A 19-year-old Black man stumbles,
Reaches for the hand of a White woman.
It's March 1921 — touching her hand
Was enough for leaders to call for
A lynching. It unleashed angry White mobs.
The next day, the sun rises over Greenwood,
All rubble, devastation where dreams stood.
Touching one hand justifies killing,
Bombing, destroying the American Dream.
Prosperity turned into the faintest of hope
For Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness,
That helping hand is a myth.
