Heritage of Arrogance

I grew up on Thomas Fight
It was lined with rebel flags
Mom and dad tried to teach me wrong from right
But their compasses were bad
I saw the Klan once with a child's eyes
Down the street where I would play
And angry Black people on the other side of the road
With clenched fists raised
Two sides of a coin, the Klan and the APC
That's the kind of bullshit our daddies said to you and me

But I've been listening
Trying to keep myself from dismissing
Perspectives that I struggle to relate with
And I'vе been learning our true history and I hate it
Two sidеs of a coin implies there ain't no better side
It says racism and justice are equally justified
And I know I didn't ask to be born white
Wasn't taught the world was so goddamn unjust
But it's on us
To make it right

Well, I got saved at the Baptist Church
When I said the sinner's prayer
Went to service with mama
And they's only white people there
I saw Rodney King on the TV screen turn slowly into Trayvon
I heard my parents make excuses
For the man who fired the gun
Two sides of a coin
Jesus Christ and white supremacy
Looking back
It don't make any sense to me

But I've been listening
Trying to keep myself from dismissing
Perspectives that I struggle to relate with
And I've been learning our true history and I hate it
And two sides of a coin
Implies there ain't no better side
Says racism and justice are equally justified
I mean, I never worked the auction block
Or joined the Christian Knights
Never called someone a racial epithet at a traffic light
And I know we never asked to be born white
We were not taught the world was so goddamn unjust
But it's on us
To make it right
Our inheritance
Is a heritage
Of arrogance and unchecked oppression
We can dismantle this
If you can stand with us
Siblings, our daddies
Never understood this lesson
And I swear that I don't mean that as a slight
They were not taught the world was so goddamn unjust
But it's on us
To make it right