[Verse 1]
Mama said
read the lines they never print
Names they never carve in stone
but still we built it, brick by brick
Teacher skipped the chapter
flipped the page, then rang the bell
Like our whole bloodline
just a rumor they don’t tell
Old heads on the corner
got more facts than the book
They talk Tulsa, talk Panthers
say “they took what they took”
I’m a black man
carrying chapters in my chest
They treat my roots like rumor
I treat my truth like a test
[Chorus]
Why my people history always a mystery? (yeah)
Hide our pain, hide our wins, that’s a trick to me (that’s a trick)
Still we shine through the blind, that’s our victory
I’m a black man, living proof, that’s the history
Why my people history always a mystery?
Turn the page, see the blank, that’s the misery
But we write in our names, that’s the remedy (write it in)
I’m a black man, breathing loud, that’s the history (yeah)
[Verse 2]
Granddaddy in the kitchen
spilling stories in the steam
Marched roads, caught hoses
all that courage in his jeans
They love our slang, love our swag
love the groove in our walk
But when it’s time to teach the truth
they get quiet when we talk
We the cotton and the crown
we the genius they don’t cite
From the field to the lab
from the pew to the mic
I ain’t asking for a favor
just the facts, let ’em stand
You can’t erase what we are
I’m the footnote in your plan
[Chorus]
Why my people history always a mystery? (why?)
Cover scars, cover stars, that’s the trick to me
But we carving in stone, that’s our legacy (yeah)
I’m a black man, walking tall, that’s the history
Why my people history always a mystery?
Turn the hush to a hymn, that’s our liturgy (amen)
From the block to the books, that’s our symmetry
I’m a black man, say it proud, that’s the history (say it proud)