Disclaimer: This piece was performed for the MLK Assembly in January 2017. The student who wrote and performed the piece requested that the original language be preserved. In honor of their artistic vision and in recognition of the importance of not censoring student voices, we have preserved all of the language, including the usage of racially sensitive words. We ask you to be respectful of language and of the artists’ vision.

Download to hear a complete recording of Curse of Ham: Curse of Ham.m4a

Verse 1: This cruel world made a militant man, Is this the plan of the man with the world in his hands, Descendent of Ham, Neglected as a nephew of Sam, My parents told me go to school and do the best that I can, Growing up they told me I could be twice as smart as my counterparts, Wouldn’t change the fact that I’ll always have to work twice as hard, Look at the statistics, Ain’t no breaks for a nigga, Even rigged this shit to send us straight from public schools to prison, That’s how we learned to trade pens and pencils for work and pistols, These broken homes are just anecdotes of a broken system, When will this Hex be lifted, It’s almost as if it’s scripted, The ancient burden we carry is written in holy scriptures, I’m hip to the statistics, I once was optimistic, I’m running low on hope now that I’ve seen the bigger picture, ALEC raping ballots, Backing fascist corporate cowards, Who vote with malice towards the bastards of the middle passage,

Verse 2: I’ve been aware since my PG Days, The teachers had us thinking Martin Luther King freed the slaves, I couldn’t make this up, County abusing the teachers so they abusing us, Ratchet shawds, And rowdy niggaz was labeled thugs, Stats say prison is destiny for a third of us, We not aware so we remain complacent, Schools ain’t segregated but our kids indoctrinated, Like it’s so rare for us to make it and not expectation, A quarter of the world’s prisoners trapped between our borders, Greed and corruption could never substitute law and order, Or could it, Look at the bills they pushin’,  A cop could stop and search your ass because you’re funny looking, Ludicrous legislation, I did the education, Fuck rehabilitation, They want to incarcerate me, They want me to cop a plea, To get a smaller penalty and lease my labor out to multibillion dollar companies,