Redline Town

Come here my child and sit yourself down
I'll tell you the story of Redline Town.

Rich white folks live 'way uptown
Poor colored folks live in Redline Town.

Man shot dead on the sidewalk at noon
on the corner in front of the Redline Saloon.

The law don't run and cops have no pity
it's hard to survive in Redline City.

Poor man wants to buy him a home
Redline Bank wouldn't give no loan.

Rich man bought an old tenement up
Redline Real-Estate sure got their cut.

Try to open up a grocery store
you won't make it in through the redline door.

Pawnshop, tavern, old liquor store
that's the kind of business the red line is for.

I wrote these words and I'll sing this song
for a man had the nerve to say redlining's wrong.

Today is the forty-fourth anniversary of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.'s most famous speech.

We're not there yet, Rev. We're still marching.