They showed me a flag when I was a child
I was standing next to Bull Connor
He looked at me
But I said nothing
I thought I should wait

I saw fire hoses and dogs
I thought it was a television show
I hoped it wasn’t true

They showed me a flag when I was a child
I was standing next to Martin Luther King, Jr.
He looked at me
But I said nothing
I thought I should wait

I saw a man pointing from a balcony
Another man lay dead
I hoped it wasn’t true

They showed me a flag when I was a child
I was standing next to George Wallace
He looked at me
But I said nothing
I thought I should wait

I saw a man standing in a doorway
He wouldn’t let another man in
I hoped it wasn’t true

They showed me a flag when I was a child
I was standing next to Cassius Clay
He looked at me
But I said nothing
I thought I should wait

I saw a man win a medal
I saw him throw it into a river
I hoped it wasn’t true

They showed me a flag when I was a child
I was standing next to a Grand Wizard
He looked at me
But I said nothing
I thought I should wait

I saw a man wearing a robe
He lit a cross on fire
I hoped it wasn’t true

They showed me a flag when I was a child
I was standing next to a black Panther
He looked at me
But I said nothing
I thought I should wait

I heard a man say something
“Teach people to stop being inhuman”
I thought maybe it was true

They showed me a flag when I was a Dad
I was standing next to my son
He looked at me
But I said nothing
I wondered if I should wait

I thought he should have his own opinion
It was time that I give him mine
I finally knew what was true

They showed me a flag when I was a sinner
I was standing next to a cross
It stood silently as I looked
This time I said something
I knew I could no longer wait

What man can judge another?
When a flag reminds them of their dead brothers
I need to tell everyone what was true