Dr. Eric Conway writes:
Hello all,
Last
night, I received an email from a colleague in California, Charles
Dickerson. Charles is the composer of the powerful piece that the
Morgan Choir sang many times over the years entitled “I Have a Dream”
based on Dr. Martin Luther King’s iconic speech. He recently wrote a
piece entitled: “This is Why We Kneel.”
The
Arts often attempt to make sense of senseless world events. I share
with you this composition and video that connects his piece to the
horrific death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. I believe the
composition depicts the outrage that we are all feeling at the moment
when “Black men are dying in America at the hands of officers of the
law.” Please take five minutes to listen to this composition. A
compelling message!
EC
Lyrics:
"This Is Why We Kneel"
Music Composed by Charles Dickerson III (c)
Music Performed by Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles & Men’s Chorus
The blood of young Black men flows in the streets of America at the hands of officers of the law.
The scene plays time and again: Black men dying in America at the hands of officers of the law.
We cannot just ignore Black men dying in America at the hands of officers of the law.
Our purpose to implore: stop this killing in America at the hands of officers of the law.
This, this, this is why, this is why we kneel.
Violence gets normalized
when Black men are killed in America at the hands of officers of the law.
All lives are jeopardized
when Black men are killed in America at the hands of officers of the law.
So when you disregard our plea to stop this killing in America at the hands of officers of the law,
We respectfully take a knee to stop this killing in America at the hands of officers of the law.
This, this, this is why, this is why we kneel.
For now we heed the cry:
we cannot just stand by and watch as young men die, at the hands of officers of the law.
So when the anthem sounds, together on the ground we offer our appeal.
This is why we kneel.
Stop killing these young boys!
Stop killing these men!
Stop killing these fathers!
Stop killing these children!
This is why we kneel!
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