[Intro] Reform was rising But the doors stayed closed Progress talked freedom Then decided who it chose Unions blocked workers Organizations denied So the people left outside Built their own way inside [Verse 1: Black Male Vocal 1] Born into slavery but I taught myself to read Turned every lesson into power I could seed Booker T Washington I built through the strain Economic strength was the start of my lane Tuskegee Institute in eighteen eighty one Alabama school where a new path begun Farming and industry gave students a trade Skills built income and the income brought change Build up the business build wealth in the town Own what we make keep the money around Social equality and civil rights grow When economic power gives the people control National Negro Business League in nineteen hundred Black owned businesses kept the future coming My road said build till the system must see A stronger foundation can support liberty [Chorus: Black Female Vocal] Build the school Build the trade Build the power we were denied Use the ballot Print the facts Bring injustice into light Different roads Same fight Equal justice equal rights Washington Du Bois and Wells Three strong voices change the tide [Verse 2: Black Male Vocal 2] First Black doctorate earned at Harvard W.E.B. Du Bois brought the facts even harder Education mattered but the ballot was key Political power was the path to be free Vote for better schools vote against the divide Vote to make the law stand on justice side Waiting for equality would never make it near Rights must be demanded while the message stayed clear Niagara Movement in nineteen oh five Equal opportunity kept the mission alive Economic and educational access for all End legal segregation tear down the wall Support stayed limited but the vision moved on Nineteen oh nine brought a force that grew strong N. Double A.C.P. took the cause nationwide Civil rights leadership with the law on its side [Chorus: Black Female Vocal] Build the school Build the trade Build the power we were denied Use the ballot Print the facts Bring injustice into light Different roads Same fight Equal justice equal rights Washington Du Bois and Wells Three strong voices change the tide [Verse 3: Black Female Vocal] Ida B Wells put the truth into print Tracked every pattern and followed each hint National campaign made the hidden facts known Silence helps injustice keep control of the throne Colored Womens Association formed in ninety six Organized action put resistance in the mix Black women gathered with a purpose in sight End discrimination and defend equal rights A Red Record came in eighteen ninety five Documented terror that had taken Black lives Prosperous people who competed in trade Often became targets when success had been made Congress failed to pass the protection required But Wells kept writing and the movement stayed fired Public exposure made the violence decline One fearless journalist helped change her time [Bridge] Washington said build Du Bois said vote Wells said publish What the powerful cloak Money brings strength The ballot brings might Truth brings pressure When it enters the light Different strategies Still justice aligned Three roads moving Toward one finish line [Final Chorus] Build the school Build the trade Build the power we were denied Use the ballot Print the facts Bring injustice into light Different roads Same fight Equal justice equal rights Washington Du Bois and Wells Three strong voices change the tide Build it Vote it Write it down Organize And spread it around Different roads Same fight Three strong voices Equal rights
