[Chorus: TJ Swan]
We came here tonight to get started
[?] party
Came a long way, now we're here to stay
And now we’re here to talk about it today
Today

[Verse 1: Debbie D]
The Underground Railroad I proclaim
And Harriet Tubman is my name
I was born and raised in a cotton field
Where everything for the blacks was locked and sealed
It was hard work, and no time to play
[?] what the white man wanted we'd obey
No hassling about, I'm telling y’all
We made them all feel like movie stars
Picking that cotton, singing [?]
Was not what we wantеd in this olden land
Up in the north things came to changе
And that's when the [?] blacks [?] train
I went back and forth, from the South to the North
And the North started [?] as my escort
[?] captivator
There were many folks saying "Damn, I hate her"
It makes no difference to me, understand
Because a shotgun stays in my right hand
They tried to fool me, school me [?]
Until all the black slaves got off that plot
It's rough, soft, I must admit
It won't be just us, it'll be justice
[Chorus: TJ Swan]
We came here tonight to get started
[?] party
Came a long way, now we're here to stay
And now we're here to talk about it today
Today

[Verse 2: Kool G Rap]
I fight for black power [?]
It's [?] that tried to help me
I’m free even though I committed crimes
But as I did time, I brightened my mind
Then I discovered a better way
One night in ’25, 19th of May
I was aggressive, walking sharp as a knife
And I knew the price to pay was my life
Ballot or the bullet, [?]
Freedom for the righteous people, slavery dies
I bowed down in Mecca, prayed in Medina
The more I think about this, I see it get meaner
Chains all on your brains, your bloodstains
In America, [?] remains
You get schooled and fooled by the old white glory
It's not history, it’s his-story
Wind up your mind and you will find
That black is beautiful, pretty and fine
My name is Malcolm X and I'mma hold 'em and make 'em
And if you are a brother, I say As-salamu alaykum
[Chorus: TJ Swan]
We came here tonight to get started
[?] party
Came a long way, now we’re here to stay
And now we're here to talk about it today
Today

[Verse 3: Glamorous]
My name is Margarita, my brother calls me Maya
The story that I'm telling is hot like fire
When we were little we lived with our grandmother
We were sent to Arkansas with my father [?]
I was three, my brother barely was four
[?] with me in her Grandma's store
We learned a lot and earned a lot
And Grandma always said "[?]"
When we were old enough, my brother and I
Moved in with our mother, Mr. Freeman [?]
What he used to do for me, it wasn't right
But my family's reaction, it wasn't polite
He knew he was wrong, so he threatened to kill
If I didn't tell a soul, everything was chill
I went silent for a while but it came out anyway
He was concicted, I had nothing to say
I went back to the South, to clear my head
And later on I found out Mr. Freeman was dead
My life in the South was like another world
Then I went back to my mom and became a California girl
Life was getting harder, went from job to job
It was like being a corn from a empty cob
Went out on my own, put a son in the world
And that's when I realized [?] girl
All the trials and tribulations that I've been through
Made me a sucessful author, to tell it to you
Judge it by the book or from what you know
Or from what you heard from Maya Angelou
Now that I've told you all these things
You should know why the caged bird sings
[Chorus: TJ Swan]
We came here tonight to get started
[?] party
Came a long way, now we're here to stay
And now we're here to talk about it today
Today

[Verse 4: MC Shan]
Martin Luther King, from Atlanta, GA
Are there any objections? (Nay!)
I tried to tell the blind, the deaf, the dumb
That there will be a day we shall overcome
I said freedom and justice was around the bend
I spoke the people rights that marks all men
Have faith in me, I'm a man of trust
I was jailed for protesting the seats on the bus
On the day [?]
I said 'Til we gonna reach that mountaintop
Strive for perfection and keep your pace steady
And when the doors open, you best be ready
A good black lawyer, a good black teacher
A good black driver or a good black preacher
If you wanna take seconds, be my guest
I'll be a good black nothing, I'm gonna be the best
Try to make it better than it was in the past
Scream to the world that we're free at last!

[Chorus: TJ Swan]
We came here tonight to get started
[?] party
Came a long way, now we're here to stay
And now we're here to talk about it today
On Today
We came here tonight to get started
[?] party
Came a long way, now we're here to stay
And now we're here to talk about it today
Today