I sat at the back,

Where I was supposed to be.
Then a white man walked on the bus and said to the bus driver,
“Sir, there’s no room for me.”
So the bus driver looked to the back, because when there is no room the blacks need to move farther back.

And the bus driver, Blake looked over at me, and yelled,
“Move on to the back lady!“Are you going to stand up?" the driver demanded. I looked Straight at him and said: "No." Flustered, and not quite sure what to do, Blake retorted, "Well, I'm going to have you arrested." And I, still sitting next to the window, replied softly, "You may do that."

The police came and handcuffed me the hand cuffed clicked as they closed around my skin,
The cold cuffs were against my skin.

People always say I didn’t give up my seat because I was tired,
But that isn’t true...No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.

Black men and women like me,
Are always treated like a flea.
We are directed to the back,
Which is only for the blacks.
The front is for whites only.

There are two signs in front of the bathroom.
One reads, “WHITES ONLY” and the other,
“BLACKS ONLY,” same with the water fountain. 

I’ve been recognized by many African Americans,
And have been accepted to help the government.

Slaves have always tried to flee,
Yet now they are free,
But we still seem to be captives to thee.

We aren’t treated correctly,
We aren’t treated as whites are,
We can’t walk comfortably,
Its as if we’ve been stuck in tar.

I’m sick of all this giving in,
It makes me want to hurl
But I can not do anything about it,
But stand up for my own kin
It all seems to spin in a wurl,
With the mixed up rules and the crazy mules.
They yell at us,
Pressure us,
And put us down.
We don’t stand up for anything,
Though I am one to fuss.