American Dream

“I have a dream… The sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream, my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. I have a dream!” – Reverend and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Chorus

Finally, the American Dream’s available to minorities
So being from other races or a woman at least no longer holds you back legally
(from living your dreams)

V1

The 1920s through the ‘60s saw the Civil Rights Movement
bring Americans together to cause a cultural revolution
with dreams to be judged by your character and not your race,
religion, gender, or age, or whether you’re straight or gay.
In most states, voting rights were denied to all women
until 1920 and the 19th Amendment.
In 1954, Hernandez v. Texas
non-black minorities gained equal rights and protections.
Many leaders like Malcolm X and MLK were preachers
speaking at massive protests and marches for freedom.
The Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts of ’64 and ‘65
ended Segregation so we could live a normal life.
Many fought it, like Alabama’s Governor George Wallace;
sending cops to help the local mobs terrorize the marches.
Now that blacks could go to white schools, the mobs resorted to violence.
JFK had to send the National Guard to force compliance.
And since major companies refused to hire or work with minorities,
and government agencies discriminated against us legally,
they systematically refused to allow us to advance,
(so) Affirmative Action laws were passed to give minorities a chance

Chorus

Finally, the American Dream’s available to minorities
So being from other races or a woman at least no longer holds you back legally
(from living your dreams)

V2

Now in no way do I mean to spread hate for white people
cuz many of our white brothers and sisters know we’re all equal
so they worked together with our leaders, helping us fight evil
and in return were beaten by police and locals for their “treason”
plenty marched with Dr. King, others helped to spread the dream
with sit-ins, boycotts, protests, or with their speech
plus many ‘50s and ‘60s celebrities
like Jane Fonda and Frank Sinatra shared their sympathies
and since minorities couldn’t vote or run for anything
leaders like Lyndon B. Johnson and the Kennedy’s
passed legislation they would call “the Great Society”
which finally helped minorities gain equality
cuz progressives have always led the fight against oppression
working for equality, minority rights, and fair elections
regardless of our races, we’re all God’s Creations
so let’s finally work together, living in peace as one nation

Chorus

Finally, the American Dream’s available to minorities
So being from other races or a woman at least no longer holds you back legally
(from living your dreams)

V3

“Integration”, the righteous endeavor to heal our nation
meant to bring together Americans of all races
of course, conservatives fought it with the “Massive Resistance”
but by God’s graces, we kept winning through persistence
from the ‘50s to the ‘70s, major universities
and Division I schools first began allowing minorities
now think about your favorite teams, think of how your schools would be
with no students of other races, this is recent history
in most states, we couldn’t love, date, or stay together
til interracial marriage was legalized in ‘67
the entertainment industry finally started showing minorities
and people got to see our musicians and actors equally
and these policies helped us live as one society
we finally got to vote, and run for office, and share the American Dream
we thought that we had won, now that racism was shunned
but the fight for economic equality had just begun

Chorus

Finally, the American Dream’s available to minorities
So being from other races or a woman at least no longer holds you back legally
(from living your dreams)

“I’m taking this seriously in that I’m old enough to remember what happened in the 1960s when, y’know, the left wing takes to the streets and somehow the media glorifies them, and it ends up shaping policy. We can’t allow to happen”

- US Congressman Peter King on the Laura Ingraham Show (in context, talking about the Occupy Wall Street protests)