White sails fly, snapping in the breeze Aboard a man-o-war stolen from the Portuguese Exotic rices, rum and spices, cargo sure to bring high prices Winds of opportunity blow west To New World wealth to be possessed and fortunes to be seized A special cargo in our hold beneath the deck A trader’s fine investment we’re paid dearly to protect Must be 40 strong West Africans he bartered for some beads and guns We snatch them from their wives and sons And shoot them when they try to run, like animals so when we’re done They learn to stop the running, hiding Fear the jumping, drowning, dying They can’t die here, they’ll die alone They will go on, they can’t go home (Sea Song) Spanish ship, come down the river Now pull, boys, pull Gotta be gold that she got with her Now pull, boys, pull Spanish ship, deep in the water Now pull, boys, pull Land ahead, be ready on the starboard side Jamestown harbor isn’t too much farther Steady on the waves, we’ll ride the breakers They can take us till we reach the beach Dodge the reef, then slide around Stand your ground. Keep the rudder in the water It’ll be like cuttin’ butter when it’s hot. Give it what you’ve got. We can make ‘er Drop the sails. Cast the anchor! Scorching sun, August heat We drag the cargo from the darkness of the keep The bos’n ascertains which battered baggage has survived He’ll curse to find just 20-odd Black Africans alive We drive them to the shore. Next time there will be more There will be more…

White indentured servants from Great Britain Black Africans that couldn’t bring their children with ‘em Sweating and freezing and dying in all kinds of weather Shipped to Jamestown enslaved together In the 1600’s, we didn’t know we were White Huddled like sheep through those dark winter nights No racist theories teaching us to be separate Just crushed by oppression and equally desperate Oppressed by the wealthy, oppressed by their laws With poor African friends we found common cause And formed coalitions. It isn’t surprising Every one of us expected a serious uprising  I hear from rich landowner, Nathaniel Bacon  Native Indian soil is ripe for the taking His uncle, the governor, refuses to help him So he's gathering forces to ignite a rebellion Let's follow Nathaniel, our ranks are formidable Light up your torches let's burn down the capitol We’ll ambush the landowners quick before they take cover And scatter like cockroaches infesting our cupboards Take prisoners, the nobles like Governor Berkely They may have heard that we're coming, so we'll have to move quickly They're boarding their ships, they're getting away They're all absconding like cowards out into the bay The governor looked back in confused disbelief If not for their ships they’d all be in shackles at least He howled for the crown to send stout reinforcements A resolute plan to take back the town was important He'd rally his forces, wait for assistance Round up his rivals, crush the resistance So in the end, our uprising failed Our leaders were hanged and our comrades were jailed Landowners, shocked, not amused nor regaled Acknowledged their narrow escape as a cautionary tale We all lick our wounds and crawl back to work Pushing our plows and digging up dirt Pondering new policies put into place That aim to blame the rebellion on something... On something called race

           Step by step              Step by step by             Step by step Give the Whites an acre on the edge of town A rifle to convince them that they’re safe and sound  Naturally it's for their own protection That's how we plan to have them keep the Native population down Whip the Whites who try to hide Black runaways Reward them for reporting those who disobey Excommunicate interracial married couples who cohabitate We can't afford another coalition that would Compromise our fragile capital position any day Not in any way   Virginia Statute Act 12:  Be it enacted and declared that all children born in this country shall be held bond or free only according to the condition of the mother. Virginia Statute Act 22: Be it therefore enacted that any captured English servant accompanying a runaway Negro must serve time for said Negro's absence. Virginia Statute Act 41: Whatsoever white man or woman being free shall intermarry with a negro, mulatto or Indian man or woman shall be banished and removed from this dominion forever.            Step by step             Step by step by             Step by step Bacon was the warning shot across the bow His strategy is nagging at me even now His workers found a way to work together Their appetite for joining Black and White is what we can't allow Strip some Blacks and rip their backs out in the square We'll treat them like a feature at the county fair By day or night when Black and White assemble Defiance from any alliance should be punished everywhere The children of the slaves we own as property            (cause that's the law) We lynch them when they stray from home improperly            (cause that's our job) Here's some good advice Never let them make you have to give an order twice They're simple-minded and uncivilized Any independence should be neutralized As pious and devoted men of God We should never feel we need to spare the rod The master has a fundamental role To remind a worker who is in control For the benefit of the community We perform our duties with impunity

(parental advisory) The legend of Columbus was historical skullduggery Reinforced by papal bullshit called the Doctrine of Discovery "Convertir a los nativos para que sigan al Redentor?" Convert those fucking pagans using slavery and war! Nine out of ten from indigenous nations Dead from disease or guns or simple starvation Fifty-five million at the hands of the White man Looking for land (That was the plan!) Goddam, we understand how to wipe out a civilization! Pick it up back in Virginia we’ve been laying down the statutes Where survival as a negro slave has always been a crapshoot There we rape the mothers, rape their daughters  Drag our children to the slaughter  It’s frugal, it’s legal - and it makes a lotta dollars Eenie meanie minie mo Catch a white tiger with a Negro ho Hang her by the ankles but you let him go Eenie meanie minie mo And if she hollers then you make her pay Cut her with a razor like a fish filet Teach her any lesson she can learn that way Nine out of ten from indigenous nations Dead from disease or guns or simple starvation Fifty-five million at the hands of the White man Looking for land (We do what we can!) Goddam, we understand how to wipe out a civilization! Take 'em to the market in a horse drawn truck We get 'em buck naked and we line 'em up Always make a killing on a nice big butt Charge a pretty penny and you get your cut The kids pick cotton like a damn machine If you start 'em out early on a tight routine But you gotta drive hard so they pick plants clean Scare 'em with a whip and some gasoline Who'll give me ten? Gimme ten dollars for the Teenage nigger with a nice strong back  There's ten. C'mon friends, here's the deal  This boy's a steal and that's a fact How 'bout twelve? (Twelve!) I hear twelve. If you make it sixteen then I'll throw in the girl  Now hell, you can tell from the hips and the Shiny white teeth she's a succulent peach and a pearl (Bidder) I'll trade you an acre for those two young kids (Auctioneer) I'll take that bid but you'll need to breed and they might not last (Bidder)   Well I wanna make a profit so I guess I'll ask,  Have you got a couple more that you're hidin' out back? (Auctioneer)  Fine sir, I do,and they're top shelf   I'll let you take ‘em both home and breed 'em yourself Take a long ride on the middle passage Bring as many as you can, yeah, that’s the message Land, wealth at any price Endorsed by the Pope and Jesus Christ We need our slaves to work the land            (Take a long ride on the middle passage) We know that you'll all understand            (Bring as many as you can, yeah, that’s the message) Our plans to settle far and wide                                                                            (Land, wealth at any price) Are good since God is on our side            (Endorsed by the Pope and Jesus Christ) We'll spread the hope of all creation From Western European nations Subdue the land and vanquish evil          By bringing God to native people

My Dearest Cotton, Since your graduation from Harvard at age 16, I have become increasingly vexed that English masters are not doing their job of looking after African slaves and children, whose souls are as white and good as those of other Nations... yet destroyed for lack of knowledge. An opportunity is in our hands for all who have any Negroes in our houses - whether we may not be the happy instruments of converting the blackest cases of blindness and baseness into admirable candidates of eternal blessedness. This opportunity must not be lost - if we have any concern for souls (our own or others).  I have heard that the Religious Society of Negroes there in Boston has agreed to be counseled by someone wise and of English descent, and not to afford shelter to anyone who has run away from their masters.  The Africans' gross bestiality and rudeness of manner, the variety and strangeness of their languages, and the weakness and shallowness of their minds render it almost impossible to make any progress in their conversion. They are better fed, better clothed and better managed by far than they would be if they were their own men. They must not be allowed to partake in evil and make themselves infinitely blacker than they are already. But by obeying, their souls will be washed white in the blood of the lamb. Furthermore, it cannot be disputed that the Christianized servant will always be more profitable to his master.  My dear son, then, let us make a trial, whether they that have been scorched and blackened by the sun of Africa, may not come to have their minds healed by the more benign beams of the sun of righteousness. God will be with you, I am persuaded he will. And with that persuasion I subscribe myself,  Your faithful mother and devoted servant, Maria Mather

I'm no racist            Ah, but all of your neighbors are white? I don't see color            Of course, so you won't have to join in the fight   Not a racist bone in my body            Because racist bones don't exist I have a black friend I invite to my house            But you've never been over to his Freedom               From feeling discomfort or pain Freedom            A troublesome topic, it's plain Freedom                      From having a hard conversation              Perpetual silence is cultural violence            Your whiteness is at it again. I don't do slavery            No, but it's ok for somebody else? I pay all of my laborers something            Sure, but you'd never become one yourself I vote for free education            Well then, maybe you'll build them a school We'll dig up some ground on the far side of town So they won't have to swim in our pool Freedom We know that it comes at a price Freedom The secret is always be nice Freedom It's clear that our system is working Don't cause any trouble, don't puncture the bubble It's worth it, take my advice This racist tragedy Why should it have to be  Our nation's strategy? Why let it shape our fragile future A free economy Demands autonomy  I love community But someone has to be the loser Freedom To gain any profit we can Freedom The dream, that was part of the plan Freedom           From holding us all to account  If freedom for all becomes part of the law True representation be damned

‘63 we lost the South  Our sacred cow, our noble cause  Our heritage was ripped away, Our way of life was sacrificed To Lincoln's law, a wicked wedge A power play for Blue and Gray Years and years of grinding toil  In blood and soil, our precious lives  For God and kin, we gave our all We scrimped and saved and taught our slaves To tow the line, sink or swim Run or crawl, to rise or fall Now we've been scammed  And I'll be damned If we'll allow a colored man To walk in here and take command Of any inch of southern land Our home, our space Take away the colored race We will never be replaced All we want is freedom We want freedom of our own North is not our beacon We can find our way alone Kiss and call it even Leave and we can let it go away then We can all forget the crying And the million dead or dying Talk the owners into hiring Bring the buyers back to buying Get suppliers re-supplying Market engines up and firing Nothing sounds as gratifying 3. ‘69 we'd seen enough To call their bluff, the growing mass  Of former slaves had gained control Through legal fights and voting rights New laws were passed, they came in waves In fits and throes like body blows  Now we aim to make it clear  The law down here may seem insane  Might hunt you down and hang you high Remember jury and the judge Are all the same for Black and Brown Wrong or right, we're always White  Now we've been scammed  And I'll be damned If we'll allow a colored man To walk in here and take command Of any inch of southern land Our home, our space Take away the colored race We will never be replaced