By: Cedric McClester

How many of my people
Had to die
For the right to vote
That they now deny?
With their Jim Crow elections laws
Don’t ask me why
I think it’s as American
As apple pie?

So what’s a Republican
Supposed to do
When too many red states
Are turning blue?
And the voters seem to be
Of a darker hue
Than the Republican voters
That they’ve been  used to

Try though you may
To elicit a confession
They’ll say it’s anything
Other than voter suppression
But history has taught us
A hard learned lesson
That stops us from wondering
Or randomly guessing

The closest thing we have
To full citizenship
Is our right to vote
Which they’re trying to strip
But we’re not just gonna
Stand idly by
And watch what we fought for
Wither and  die





Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

From the lynching rope
We clung to hope
Fought for the right to vote
And also take note
We spent long days and nights
Fighting for civil rights
And the salient fact is
We’re not going back

We take two steps forward
And three steps back
I can’t help but think
That’s because we’re black
As for others of color
The same thing applies
They impede our progress
Through half truths and lies

But what they should know
Is there’s an ebb and flow
To how things will go
And time will show
The check is in the mail
And we will prevail
Our option’s not to fail
Or go off the rail

From the lynching rope
To the scourge of dope
It’s been a slippery *****
Though we’ve learned to cope
So as a matter of fact
We’re not looking back
We want what we lack
Not to subtract

Cedric McClester, Copyright (c) 2021.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

There’s no rhyme
Nor is there reason
So who declared it
Open season
On the Asian community?
They’re attacked if
You’re asking me
With what appears to be impunity

What did an Asian
Ever do to anyone
To make them victims
Of an errant person’s gun?
Is that just someone’s
Sick idea of fun?
Just take a look at all
The damage that it’s done

Asians are more than
Just Chinese
They hail from many countries
In the Near and Far East
Like everybody else
They’re deserving of peace
So tell me when will
All this madness cease?

The Corona virus affects
More than you
Asians are susceptible
To it too
It may have come from China
Which we already knew
But that doesn’t make it
The China or Kung-flu



Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

The nexus of
All the rope in Texas
Along with a tall oak tree
Is part of the history
Of lynching folks like me
So why can’t Chip Roy see
That It was
A **** poor analogy

Clearly his myopic
View point on the topic
Of anti-Asian hate
Doesn’t add to the debate
Instead his racist trope
Shows him to be a dope
Let’s wash his mouth with soap
And then we can hold out hope

That he becomes enlightened
Not zenophobic or frightened
By people he never knew
Of a different color or hue
He needn’t double down
Because he likes the sound
Of being obstinate
His opinion doesn’t fit

Congressman Chip Roy is following
A familiar Republican ploy
To stir up a like-minded crowd
By saying the quiet parts out loud
He can anticipate
Through sowing seed of hate
You’d be amazed
How much he can fund raise



Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Whites are entitled to
An occasional bad day
While people of color
Are executed or locked away
Said to be misunderstood
While people of color
Are just no good

Clearly there’s a great
Big dichotomy
Between white folks
And people like me
See that’s plain enough
For us all to see
But my question is
Does there have to be?

Too many whites want
Hegemony
Over people of color
And that shouldn’t be
If we truly are all
Born from a mother
What makes one
Better than the other?

Whites are few
People of color are many
Whites explored the world
And didn’t find any
People of their same
Color or hew
Which made them afraid
Of the day that we knew






Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021. All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

He had a bad day
Or so they say
And he blew 8
Innocent people away
Six of whom were
Asian okay
And if that’s not  a hate crime
What is anyway?

I can’t relate to
It not being hate
When six of the eight
Were Asian they state
What more must we see
To know race is the key?
And if you’re asking me
It will always be

Chances are none to slim
That an Asain did
A **** thing to him
Yet he attacked them
On a mere whim
And what kind of message
Does that tend to send?
I’m asking all  the gentlemen

Aren’t you sick and tired
Of anti-Asain stereo-types
Perpetrated by miscreants
And guttersnipes?
Who victimize Asians
At  the drop of a hat
According to all of
The latest stats

Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021. All rights reserved..

By: Cedric McClester

Since time began
I can’t think of when
My people have been appreciated
For their melanin
So why don’t cha try living in
The skin that we’re in
Before you decide
Whether we’re foe or friend

Though black is beautiful
It’s been said
And long before slavery
We’ve seen where that’s led
Black women inside of
A white man’s bed
And black men subjugated
Or summarily bled

These are statements
Of salient facts
On the history of how
Whites have treated blacks
And now is no time
For us to relax
We’re not that far from
Plantations or shacks

But let me not end on
A sour note
Though I could continue
To emote
Truly optimism
Is what floats my boat
So if you must
Let that be your quote

Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2021.  All rights reserved.