America, America
Land of the free,
A society filled with justice and equality.
This is a clear example of hypocrisy,
Unless they forgot to include me
And millions of others kept in captivity,
Confined behind tall walls and razor wires
With numbers constantly rising higher.
Countless amounts will never be released
Except in body bags, once deceased.
Most inmates have done their wrong
But guidelines hold prisoners much too long.
America has a fluctuating economy
So prisons have become big industry
Where men are stocked as commodities
And actually forced to work for free.
Refusal results in being thrown in the hole
Along with the definite denial of parole.
Since the signing of the Emancipation
Minorities have been swallowed by incarceration.
It is easy to see the similarities
Between prison life and slavery.
Inside the walls, phone rates are sky high
Because financial support comes from AT&T and NCI.
TWA and Best Western too
As far as investors, that’s just a few.
Inmates are forced to make bed linen too.
It’s a shame many folks don’t know
We’re in an era of The New Jim Crow.
There’s no justice or equality.
America was built through slavery.
Don’t take my word,
Study your history.
Racist lawmakers and politicians make decisions
Causing Blacks and Latinos to fill the prisons.
Outsiders believe we are being rehabilitated
But being caged only generates hatred.
Majority of defendants are victimized and doomed
Way before entering the courtroom.
The vocabulary and terminology used
Leaves most defendants dazed and confused
And often the attorney who’s protecting your rights
Drinks martinis with the judge at night,
Quick to offer some type of plea deal
Or make you wait for many years for an appeal.
Court officials share a bond, which we’re not a part
Stacking odds against you from the start,
Just like slave masters buying and selling slaves
Working them till they’re dead in their graves.
So, at times, it seriously baffles me
Why America is called the “Land of the Free”
Bryant Arroyo in collaboration with Wilbert Sanders, a.k.a. Jazz the Poet.
These commentaries are recorded by Noelle Hanrahan of Prison Radio.
