Imagine

What happens in neighborhoods where the self esteem
has been over shadowed by the decay
and the children no longer play the way they used to.

Where young boys choose to follow figures that had no father figures.
A place where lives have been reduce to mere names on a nigger wall
a lot of dead shames on a nigger wall
‘cause most of my childhood friends died over some dumb shit.

It’s like we all on some slum shit
What happened to that “We Shall Overcome” shit?
Nigger, where I’m from, shit, they done torn down the projects
And took away neighborhood sports.

It’s a place where little black boys put on jerseys and shorts.
Dream big about stardom on fine hard wood courts
but await to the harsh reality of the strip unfinished inner city floor
where life splinters.

Cold winters are sheltered by crack houses
instead of recreation centers that they claim to not have the paper
to keep open for operation.

The deconstruction of the black family has been in
perpetuation ever since Willie Lynch has set his theory in motion.
Decharacterization was his sole promotion.

Therefore, if you take the basketball out of his face and
put the coke in its place he’ll still score.
What’s a young boy when he doesn’t want to do wrong but there’s
a lock on the right door.

When he has the heart of a soldier, the aggression of a prize fighter
but no one has taught him what to fight for, see
most our families are fatherless and quite poor.

So we miss out on meals as well as kisses and hugs
You’ve got the audacity to cut the funding for the
facilities to keep us off the streets
then ask us Why we sell drugs?

But imagine if niggers put down their dice and guns
and picked up their daughters and sons and
put a little love right there where the hate is.

Imagine if niggers had chance to become accountants
before being taught what the difference between wet and dry is.
Imagine if these little inner city kids had the same type of schools
as these little rich kids had way out there in the sticks.

Imagine if niggers had the chance to
learn chemistry for real before we learn how to whip 7½ out of six.
Imagine if these little black girls could go to these dance schools for free
and learn to love the dream of that Broadway show.

Imagine if she wasn’t forced into a game where you assume a
filthy name to put your soul and ass up for show.
Imagine she was taught to love herself, imitate no one,
demand and demonstrate respect when she walks though the door.
Imagine if she watched the tellie and saw herself during the prime time hour instead
of the four o’clock video whore.

Imagine.

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Black Ice spoken word “Imagine” is his take on how the lack of opportunities in the inner city deprives young men and women of a positive self image and self respect.