Anne Braden

[Spoken] 
What I've realized since is that it's a very painful process but 
it is not destructive. It's
the world deliberation. And what really happened in the sixties 
was that this country took just
the first step toward admitting that it had been wrong on race,
 and creativity burst out in all
directions. 

From the color of the faces in Sunday songs 
To the hatred they raised all the youngsters on 
Once upon a time in this country, long ago 
She knew there was something wrong 
Because the song said "yellow, red, black, and white 
Every one precious in the path of Christ" 
But what about the daughter 
Of the woman cleaning their house? 
Wasn't she a child they were singin' about? 
And if Jesus loves us, black and white skin 
Why didn't her white mother invite them in? 
When did it become a room for no blacks to step in? 
How did she already know not to ask the question? 
Left lasting impressions 
At a lesson, comfort's gone (?) 
She never thought things would ever change, 
But she always knew there was something wrong. 

Always knew there was somethin' wrong. 
She always knew there was somethin' wrong. 
Years later, she found herself 
Mississippi bound to help 
Stop the legalized lynching of Mr. Willy McGee. 
But they couldn't stop it, 
So they thought that they'd talk to the governor about what'd happened 
And say, "We're tired of being used as an excuse to kill black men." 
But the cops wouldn't let 'em past 
And these women, they struck 'em as uppity 
So they hauled 'em all off to jail 
And they called in protective custody. 
Then from her cell 
She heard her jailers 
Grumblin' about "outsiders". 
When she called 'em out 
And said she was from the south, they shouted, 
"Why is a nice, Southern lady makin' trouble 
For the governor?" 
She said, "I guess I'm not your type of lady, 
And I guess I'm not your type of Southerner, 
But before you call me traitor, 
Well it's plain as just to say (?) 
I was a child in Mississippi 
but I'm ashamed of it today." 

She always knew there was somethin' wrong. 
She always knew there was somethin' wrong. 
She always knew there was somethin' wrong. 
She always knew there was somethin' wrong. 
[Spoken] And, all of a sudden, I realized I was on the other side

Imagine the world that you're standing within 
All of your neighbors, they're family-friends. 
How would you cope facing the fact 
The flesh on their hands was tainted with sin? 
She faced this every day. 
People she saw on a regular basis; 
People she loved, in several cases; 
People she knew were incredibly racist. 
It was painful, but she never stopped loving them, 
Never stopped callin' their names 
And she never stopped being a Southern woman 
And she never stopped fighting for change. 
And she saw that her struggle was 
in the tradition of ancestors never aware of her (?) 
It continues today: 
The soul of a Southerner 
born of the other America. 

She always knew there was somethin' wrong. 
She always knew there was somethin' wrong. 
She always knew there was somethin' wrong. 
She always knew there was somethin' wrong. 

[Spoken] 
What you win in the immediate battles is little compared to 
the effort you put into it but if
you see that as a part of this total movement to build a new world, 
you know what could be
(?? "oooh, ooooh"). You do have a choice. You don't have to be a 
part of the world of the
lynchers. You can join the other America. There is another America!