The Silent Minority

by Jacqueline Leonard (1993)

(Dedicated to Sandra N. Jones)

We watched the plight of

Our brothers and sisters in South Africa.

But many of us kept silent.

We have seen the hunger of Ethiopia,

Her children starving like cattle,

But many of us withheld our hands.

We viewed the poverty in South Dallas,

Dilapidated homes, grown men without jobs,

But we just keep passing through.

We experienced racial discrimination

Twenty-five years after the death of King,

Bu we don’t protest much anymore.

Who is the real enemy,

The vocal majority

Or the silent minority?

How many of our people

Have to die, go to jail, or lose jobs,

Before we open our mouths and say

ENOUGH?