For Norris Dendy
07.04.1933
(Clinton, South Carolina)
To the Negro, what is the Fourth of July?
A picnic celebration with family and friends
Not a day to be beaten, not a day to die!
On this celebration of Independence, still something to dread!
A picnic celebration with family and friends.
A Negro struck a white man, and thus he must die!
On this day of Independence, still something to dread.
By the whims of white supremacy, all Negroes must abide!
A Negro struck a white man, and thus he must die;
Though not a day to be beaten, not a day to die.
By the whims of white supremacy, all Negros must abide.
To the Negro, what is the Fourth of July?
William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters 