Talib Kweli - Let Freedom Reign lyrics

[Intro: Chrisette Michele] Oh American citizen Come collect your freedom No matter what you're living in Oh American citizen Come collect your freedom No matter what you're living in It's time to win [Verse 1: Chrisette Michele] Keep us in the four walls of our churches We'll be quiet Most of us ain't even Democratic or Republican And by coincidence, we love the elected Until they're detected Of being human America falls Minorities lose war But if we united, we would've won the war On poverty, war on d** War on Medicaid, war on love Freedom isn't given; it is taken Freedom isn't free; it's earned I know it's learned Been hung and burned Yet rest in peace Resurrect it please This ain't black or white; it's gray This is not about my faith Most of us don't know what to say Right from wrong or free from slaves [Hook: Chrisette Michele] Let freedom reign Do you want to be free Or do you want to be dead? I want to be free I want to be free I want to be free Let freedom reign Do you want to be free Or do you want to be dead? I want to be free I want to be free I want to be free [Verse 2: Talib Kweli] America the beautiful Suspect as usual Liberty and d**h Give me freedom or my funeral I walk across the planet with the steps of a giant My rhymes bridge the gap between religion and science Cause my evidence is spiritual I know my sheer presence is a miracle I wasn't supposed to be here to share with you But here I am Standing with my chest out I take my place in history I never get left out You stressed out And scared so it's causing you to act hard Freedom ain't free, gotta put it on my black card My pa**port claim I'm an American citizen The constitution said I'm three-fifths I'm not a semi and gorilla Pack my song stronger than the Horn of Gideon Truth is the Norse gave the native people syphilis Consider this: Christopher Columbus ain't know where he was going So let's stop calling our native brothers Indians [Hook: Chrisette Michele] Let freedom reign Do you want to be free or do you want to be dead? I want to be free I want to be free I want to be free Let freedom reign Do you want to be free or do you want to be dead? I want to be free I want to be free I want to be free [Verse 3: Black Thought] We were carried here in shackles from the homeland Broom-chopped, chain-locked, brainwashed, programmed Time's changed, freedom reigns, I'm a grown man Holding the future in the palms of my own hands In this world the coonery and tomfoolery All I'm trying to do is stay true to my community The daily news ain't the only thing that's schooling me Watching these haters operating with impunity It's dirty dollar signs Black and white collar crimes Running out of time Out of sight, out of mind It gets realer in Israel, in Palestine Troubles of the world start to seem intertwined War criminals, conflict minerals Pillagers are coming home Five-star generals Telling lies in press conferences and interviews I'm trying to take back the power Cause it's been abused [Hook: Chrisette Michele] Let freedom reign Do you want to be free or do you want to be dead? I want to be free I want to be free I want to be free Let freedom reign Do you want to be free or do you want to be dead? I want to be free I want to be free I want to be free [Outro: Chrisette Michele] I'm just black in America I'm not Afro-American Just a pa**ive American Making believe I'm better than what we've been, what we've been I'm just black in America I'm not Afro-American Just a pa**ive American Making believe I'm better than what we've been, what we've been