“A Change is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke

I was born by the river in a little tent
Oh and just like the river I’ve been running ever since
It’s been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

It’s been too hard living but I’m afraid to die
Cause I don’t know what’s up there beyond the sky
It’s been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

I go to the movie and I go downtown
Somebody keep telling me don’t hang around
It’s been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

Then I go to my brother
And I say brother help me please
But he winds up knockin’ me
Back down on my knees
There been times when I thought I couldn’t last for long
But now I think I’m able to carry on

It’s been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

I’ve been singing this all morning, trying to calm and comfort myself.

It’s too hard to both go to sleep and wake up to more death and more injustice. I didn’t want to watch the video of Alton Sterling being shot to death. I didn’t need to watch the video to know that he was murdered. But I saw a few seconds of it by accident as I scrolled through Instagram this morning.

Those few seconds were enough to sere the image into my mind. Tonight I will fall asleep with that image, and tomorrow I will wake up with that image. And I will be afraid for my friends, and for my family, and for their children. And I will not know how to reconcile the fact that I don’t have to be afraid for myself.

But I will be your brother, and I will not knock you down when you come to me, and I will not turn you away when you come to me. And I hope you will teach me better ways to be for you, and together we will do more than hope that a change is gonna come.