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I am strong-willed and determined
I wonder if the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I hear freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
I see signs around every corner reading “For Whites Only”
I want an oasis of freedom and justice for white and colored alike
I am strong-willed and determined
I pretend that the term “boy” is not offensive
I feel that Americans have given Negroes a “bad check”
I touch the whirlwinds of revolt
I worry that our children will forever be stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity
I cry when I explain to my six-year old daughter that Funtown is closed to colored children
I am strong-willed and determined
I understand that we have been the veterans of creative suffering
I say that we shall not wallow in the valley of despair
I dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I try to exalt every valley, every hill and mountain
I hope that we shall always march ahead
I am strong-willed and determined
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