There was that moment in 1619 (1)
When 20 some Africans stepped on to the shore
And that was the start of America's dreaming
For they knew they'd see Angola no more.
And there was that moment Jesus taught us of mercy
Saying : "What you do unto others, you do unto me"
And He died on the cross to make all men holy
And our fathers they died to make all men free.
And these are the moments that call us to action
These are the moments we learn how to stand
These are the moments we rise to the vision
Let us endeavor for greatness again.
And there were those moments when we welcome the masses
The tired, the hungry, who yearn to breathe free
And they follow the dream like so many before them
And they follow the dreaming ,just like you and me.
And there was the moment we cheered for Apollo (2)
And the moment we wept when the Challenger (3) fell
United like men in the days of Pearl Harbor (4)
They left friends and family and marched into hell.
But these are the moments that call us to action
But these are the moments we learn how to stand
And these are the moments we rise to the vision
Let us endeavor for greatness again.
And there were dark moments when young boys like Emmett (5)
Had lives cut short by the hate of the Klan (6)
Will we really sit by over 60 years later
And do nothing while it all happens again?.
And there are those moments when our children are slaughtered
And we ask our leaders:“Can these weapons be banned?”
And they shrug back at us in self-righteous indifference
Saying: “We value the guns, let your children be damned”.
And these are the moments that call us to action
These are the moments we learn how to stand
And these are the moments we rise to the vision
So let us endeavor for greatness again.
So, as we did in the time of the Covid
Though we were masked our spirits were seen
Let us endeavor to find our greatness
Let us fulfill America's dream.
Let us fulfill America's dream.
When 20 some Africans stepped on to the shore
And that was the start of America's dreaming
For they knew they'd see Angola no more.
And there was that moment Jesus taught us of mercy
Saying : "What you do unto others, you do unto me"
And He died on the cross to make all men holy
And our fathers they died to make all men free.
And these are the moments that call us to action
These are the moments we learn how to stand
These are the moments we rise to the vision
Let us endeavor for greatness again.
And there were those moments when we welcome the masses
The tired, the hungry, who yearn to breathe free
And they follow the dream like so many before them
And they follow the dreaming ,just like you and me.
And there was the moment we cheered for Apollo (2)
And the moment we wept when the Challenger (3) fell
United like men in the days of Pearl Harbor (4)
They left friends and family and marched into hell.
But these are the moments that call us to action
But these are the moments we learn how to stand
And these are the moments we rise to the vision
Let us endeavor for greatness again.
And there were dark moments when young boys like Emmett (5)
Had lives cut short by the hate of the Klan (6)
Will we really sit by over 60 years later
And do nothing while it all happens again?.
And there are those moments when our children are slaughtered
And we ask our leaders:“Can these weapons be banned?”
And they shrug back at us in self-righteous indifference
Saying: “We value the guns, let your children be damned”.
And these are the moments that call us to action
These are the moments we learn how to stand
And these are the moments we rise to the vision
So let us endeavor for greatness again.
So, as we did in the time of the Covid
Though we were masked our spirits were seen
Let us endeavor to find our greatness
Let us fulfill America's dream.
Let us fulfill America's dream.
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(1) Nell'agosto del 1619, a Point Comfort, in Virginia, prima colonia inglese nell'America settentrionale, approdò la fregata "White Lion" con a bordo venti uomini di origine africana (negroes) destinati a essere venduti come lavoratori. Tre giorni dopo la "Treasurer" arrivò con altra "merce umana". I due eventi sono tradizionalmente considerati l'inizio della schiavitù in America, anche se probabilmente quei primi africani giunti in Virginia furono acquistati come "servitori a contratto", seguendo una modalità d'impiego diffusa all'epoca: la "servitù da debito".
Fonte : https://www.focus.it/cultura/storia/usa-stati-uniti-400-anni-fa-nasceva-la-schiavitu'.
(2) Apollo: nome del programma spaziale statunitense e della navicella spaziale che porto’ sulla luna i primi uomini il 20 Luglio 1969.
(3) Challenger: il 28 gennaio 1986 lo "Space Shuttle Challenger" esplose dopo pochi secondi di volo causando la morte di tutte le 7 persone a bordo
(4) Pearl Harbor: il 7 dicembre 1941 , in assenza di una dichiarazione di guerra, la Marina Imperiale Giapponese attacco’ la Flotta del Pacifico degli Stati Uniti e le installazioni militari statunitensi di Pearl Harbor nelle Hawaii. con pesanti danni alla flotta americana.
Attacco che provocò l'ingresso nella seconda guerra mondiale degli Stati Uniti.
(5) Emmett Louis Till, detto Bobo (1941 –1955), era un ragazzo afroamericano che fu brutalmente assassinato per motivi razziali nella località di Money, in Mississippi.
La sua morte è ricordata come uno degli eventi chiave che hanno rafforzato il nascente "Movimento per i diritti civili" degli afroamericani. I principali sospettati furono assolti, ma in seguito ammisero di aver commesso il crimine.
Wikipedia
NB - Nel 1962 Bob Dylan scrisse “The Death of Emmett Till “ sull’omicidio di Emmett Till avvenuto il 28 Agosto 1955 . – [ v. pagina di CCG ]
(6) Ku Klux Klan, noto con la sigla KKK, è il nome utilizzato da diverse organizzazioni segrete formatesi negli Stati Uniti d'America a partire dal XIX secolo con finalità politiche e terroristiche di stampo razzista, propugnanti la superiorità della cosiddetta "razza bianca".