There's a protest downtown. They're saying the Reverend Al Sharpton's gonna be there, so you know it's gonna be dope. You should come.

To a protest?

A rally. A peaceful rally. Look, I know you don't normally go in for this sort of thing

This sort of thing?

Yeah, you know, demonstrations, political shitand that's, I mean, you do youbut those cops almost killed Rodney King and for no other reason than that he was Black!

Scooter...

And I know that you know that, like... I'm not saying anything that you... I just think that what those guys did was wrong and we've gotta show up and show out.

Come on, Jay, what's there to think about?

And I wanted to tell him bout what happened to me

When I was just fifteen.

Bout the cop back home who'd cuffed me for dealing

Cause I was black.

And who'd beaten me with his baton til I was blue

Cause I had too much attitude

And wouldn't lick his shoe.

And I wanted to tell him bout my grandfather Jules

Who in nineteen sixty-one

Was shot by a cop in a car coming home

Cause he was black.

And bout how my momma'd meant to tell me

A thousand times before

But she'd been scared that I might rage

And it would burn me to the core.

 

I wanted to tell him

That I was the only one my momma had left

That I was her person

And she was mine

And if something happened to me

She'd be alone and bereft.

And I couldn't leave her on her own.

I wouldn't leave her all alone.

Alone.

And I wanted to tell him all of that

I really wanted to say

There's a lot to talk about, a fucking lot.

But there was just no way.

I didn't think he'd understand.

I knew he wouldn't understand.

Cause white boys don't get shot by cops

Cause white boys don't get beaten.

Fear ain't somethin' that they have to feel

Just because of the color of their skin,

Or because they're just walking around

Breathing,

Just breathing.

So I held my tongue

And kept the line in the sand.

Look, I'm sorry, that wasn't fair of me to say. I mean, it's one thing for me to... but it's an entirely different thing for you. I mean, obviously. So if you don't wanna come to the protest then

I'm in.

You're... Yeah?

Yeah.

Well, alright!