JFK

The year is ‘61, the fight is loud,

Voices rise up from the crowd.

Segregation, hate still thrives,

But a leader stands with hope alive.

JFK says, “We must unite,”

No more walls of black and white.

Equal work, an equal chance,

No more blocking circumstance.

But the streets still burn, the South resists,

Some say he’s slow, some shake their fists.

Freedom calls, but change is tough,

Will words alone be strong enough?

(Ohhh) A dream delayed, but not denied,

Laws were written, a nation tried.

JFK saw the promised land,

But fate would pass it to another hand.

New rules rise, a higher bar,

Government must set the start.

No more deals built on race,

No more closed or locked-up gates.

If they refuse, the courts will fight,

Discrimination’s losing might.

But Southern voices push back hard,

Claiming freedom’s been scarred.

African Americans wanted more,

They liked his words, but knew the score.

MLK called, “The time is now!”

But still, the fight was dragged somehow.

(Ohhh) A dream delayed, but not denied,

Laws were written, a nation tried.

JFK saw the promised land,

But fate would pass it to another hand.

[Bridge] (Stronger, more urgent)

Birmingham burned, the riders rode,

The streets of Selma bore the load.

The march was hard, the road was long,

But the people’s voices stayed so strong.

Then the shots rang, the dream stood still,

JFK fell, but not his will.

LBJ took up the fight,

And civil rights stepped into light.

[Final Chorus] (Hopeful, rising to a climax)

(Ohhh) (Ohhh) A dream delayed, but not denied,

Laws were written, a nation tried.

JFK saw the promised land,

But fate would pass it to another hand.

[Outro] (Slows down, voices echoing, powerful harmonies.)

One step forward, still more to go,

The seeds were planted, let them grow.

A nation fought, a leader fell,

But in our hands, the story tells.