Oorspronkelijk geschreven voor 13th, een documentaire over raciale verhoudingen/spanningen in de VS. De titel verwijst naar het dertiende amendement van de Amerikaanse Grondwet, waarin de slavernij werd afgeschaft. Het dertiende amendement schafte in theorie ook de gedwongen tewerkstelling (involuntary servitude) af, maar daar valt heel wat op af te dingen.
Ava DuVernay, de maker van 13th, wil met haar documentaire aantonen dat de afschaffing van de slavernij voornamelijk op papier plaatsvond. Omdat gedwongen tewerkstelling blééf toegestaan als straf, werd de slavernij in feite in een andere vorm voortgezet. Arme zwarte mannen werden massaal gearresteerd, veroordeeld – vaak op verzonnen aanklachten – en verhuurd aan bedrijven, met name in de mijnbouw. Dit systeem functioneert nog steeds in de VS, in de vorm van het prison-industrial complex: “Prison is a business, America’s the company/Investing in injustice, fear and long suffering/We staring in the face of hate again/The same hate they say will make America great again”.
[Verse 1: Common]
Southern leaves, southern trees we hung from
Barren souls, heroic songs unsung
Forgive them Father they know this knot is undone
Tied with the rope that my grandmother died
Pride of the pilgrims affect lives of millions
Since slave days separating, fathers from children
Institution ain’t just a building
But a method, of having black and brown bodies fill them
We ain’t seen as human beings with feelings
Will the U.S. ever be us? Lord willing!
For now we know, the new Jim Crow
They stop, search and arrest our souls
Police and policies patrol philosophies of control
A cruel hand taking hold
We let go to free them so we can free us
America’s moment to come to Jesus
[Chorus: Bilal]
Freedom (Freedom)
Freedom come (Freedom come)
Hold on (Hold on)
Won’t be long (Won’t be long)
Freedom (Freedom)
Freedom come (Freedom come)
Hold on (Hold on)
Won’t be long (Won’t be long)
[Verse 2: Common]
The caged birds sings for freedom to ring
Black bodies being lost in the American dream
Blood of black being, a pastoral scene
Slavery’s still alive, check Amendment 13
Now whips and chains are subliminal
Instead of ‘nigga’ they use the word ‘criminal’
Sweet land of liberty, incarcerated country
Shot me with your ray-gun
And now you want to trump me
Prison is a business, America’s the company
Investing in injustice, fear and long suffering
We staring in the face of hate again
The same hate they say will make America great again
No consolation prize for the dehumanized
For America to rise it’s a matter of Black Lives
And we gonna free them, so we can free us
America’s moment to come to Jesus
[Chorus: Bilal]
Freedom (Freedom)
Freedom come (Freedom come)
Hold on (Hold on)
Won’t be long (Won’t be long)
Freedom (Freedom)
Freedom come (Freedom come)
Hold on (Hold on)
Won’t be long (Won’t be long)
Freedom (Freedom)
Freedom come (Freedom come)
Hold on (Hold on)
Won’t be long (Won’t be long)
Freedom (Freedom)
Freedom come (Freedom come)
Hold on (Hold on)
Won’t be long (Won’t be long)
Freedom (Freedom)
Freedom come (Freedom come)
Hold on (Hold on)
Won’t be long (Won’t be long)
Freedom (Freedom)
Freedom come (Freedom come)
Hold on (Hold on)
Won’t be long (Won’t be long)
Freedom (Freedom)
Freedom come (Freedom come)
Hold on (Hold on)
Won’t be long (Won’t be long)
Freedom (Freedom)
Freedom come (Freedom come)
Hold on (Hold on)
Won’t be long (Won’t be long)
Freedom (Freedom)
Freedom come (Freedom come)
Hold on (Hold on)
Won’t be long (Won’t be long)
Uitgelichte afbeelding: By New York Stock Exchange – Private Prison Stock Prices. Digital image. New York Stock Exchange. Huffington Post, 07 June 2012. Web. 05 Oct. 2017., CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=63203807
