How long sweet Jesus, how long

How long, sweet Jesus how long

I woke up this morning feeling good, feelin myself
Listening to the radio
North Carolina another death
I thought about the man whose car merely stalled in the street
That man lost his life, after being tased up off his feet
His body on camera laying dead in the street
It was an accident I was reaching for my Taser is what I heard she said
Oh ok it's cool, hell nall it's not a parents son, a child's father, a teachers student is now dead
I'm sickened by the state the country is currently in, cops shooting people for simple offenses, ordinary citizens, not sure why I'm shocked and amazed it's been happenin since way back when..
Your role, the job you signed up for is to serve and protect, songs back in the 60's, "trigger happy policin" we haven't got past it yet
Way back then our people were on the regular being hung from the trees
Current situation being choked off your feet, let me go, "I can breath"
Way back then whatever the offense determined the number of lashes
Now no more whip them lashes come in the form of 17 shots from a police officers gun, the dude is down why you still blastin?
Back in the day death was the way, to keep you illiterate you were beaten or killed if it was discovered you could read
then let's not give you equal educational opportunities to keep you from being smart like me,
oh you marched on that,  well now we close your schools to keep you from being able to compete
now here she come confident, educated I caught you switchin lanes without your signal how dare you question me?
I'll give you a ticket as a matter a fact smart ass you can come with me
We'll use this garbage bag, don't need no rope nor tree
I'm so tired of hearing about the police killing my people dead in the streets
I'm equally tired of hearing about young brothers not living to make twenty three
I'm tired of hearing about the number of homicides constantly going up
They say the murder rate is higher then it was in 2015 and this year isn't even up
How long sweet Jesus how long, must my people continue to die
How long will we continue to listen to police officers who continue to lie
How long will kids witness gun shots and death in their neighborhoods, and mothers/fathers continue to cry
How long will we continue to look at the violence in our neighborhood and turn a blind eye
How long must I wake up everyday go to work trying to smile while on the inside with every life taken, a little of my heart breaks apart withers and dies....

How long?