I could have been anywhere today

Today I could hear James Weldon Johnson in my head
"Lift every voice and sing
Till earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the listening skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us,
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun
Let us march on till victory is won."

I could have been anywhere today.

"Stony the road we trod,
Bitter the chastening rod,
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;
Yet with a steady beat,
Have not our weary feet"

James, you warned me the road would be stony,
the chastening rod would be bitter,
our feet would be weary.

I came 500 miles today James.
I stood under the 100 degree Washington DC sun,
I marched under that hot sun,
I sang under that hot sun,
I dance in the afternoon rain...

I could have been anywhere today,
But, they're closing down our schools today,
But, they're putting For Sale signs on our public schools today,
But, America's Senators and Members of Congress are dinning with Hedge Fund Managers today,
But, Governor and Mayors are slashing schools budgets today,
Charter School Pirates are buying our local schools today,
Secretary John King and his Alphabet Boys and Girls at the United States Department of Education are cooking new soups NCLB, RTTT, ESSA, and CBE today,

I could have been anywhere today,
But, they're pushing Rigor to children today,
But, they're pushing Grit to children today
But, they're pushing more testing to children today,
But, they're planning to end public education today,
But they're planning to charterize it all today,
But, they're selling data scams to parents today,
But, they're turning children into data today.
I could have been anywhere today.
But how could I be anywhere else today?

I could have been anywhere today,
But, James Weldon Johnson is in my head here today,
"Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us,
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun
Let us march on till victory is won."
I could have been anywhere today, but how could I not be here?
Here with our nation's children,
Here with our nation's parents,
Here with our nation's teachers,
Here with our our nation's education warriors,

I could have been anywhere today,
Ring Every Bell!
Shout it in Every Hamlet,
Call it out in Every Town,
Shout it on Every Street Corner,
Tell it On Every Mountain Top,
How could I be anywhere else?

I could have been anywhere today,
But this is where my people were today,
But this is where my people came to sing today,
But this is where my heroes spoke today.

"Lift every voice and sing,
Till earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the listening skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us,
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun
Let us march on till victory is won."

I could have been anywhere today, but I had a song to sing,
A song of struggle,
A song of hurt,
A song of hope,
A song of my people.

I could have been anywhere today,
But, Rev. Barber called,
Diane Ravicth called,
Gus Morales called,
Yohuru Williams called,
Brother Jitu called,
Barbara Madaloni called,
Bob George called.

I could have been anywhere today,
But, Jonathan Kozol called,
Denisha Jones called,
SOS Called,
United Opt Out called,
NPE called,
Anthony Cody called.

I could have been anywhere today,
But Marla, Priscilla, and Melissa's BATs Called,
CELT Called,
NCUEA Called,
The Detroit Teachers called,
The Massachusetts Teachers called.

I could have been anywhere today,
But, Bishop Selders called,
The Newark Students Union Called,
The Youth Dreamers called,
Sam Anderson Called.

I could have been anywhere today,
But, Jamaal Bowman called,
Michael Flanagan called,
Ceresta Smith Called,
Ruth Rodriquez called,
Ricardo Rosa called.

I could have been anywhere today,
But, the Chicago Teachers Union called,
Asean Johnson called,
NYSAPE's Lisa Rudely called.
I could have been anywhere today,
But Jesse Hagopian called,
Dyett Hungers Strikers called.

I could have been anywhere today,
But, Barry Lane called,
Jeremy Dudley called,
Michelle Gunderson called,
Terry Moore called,
Becca Ritchie called.

I could have been anywhere today,
But, Bess Altwerger called,
Rick Meyers called,
Tracy Drum Called.

I could have been anywhere today,
But, our nation's children called,
Our nation's parents called,
Our nation's teachers called.

I could have been anywhere today,
But, Morna McDermott called.
Jo Lib Called,
Rose Reyes called,
Ela Chojnick ~ and her beautiful daughters called,


I could have been anywhere today,
But, Lincoln's Spirit called.
Dr. Martin Luther King's spirit called,
Pete Seeger called,
Hope called, America called.

I could have been anywhere today,
But, James Weldon Johnson called.

We could have been anywhere today,
We could haven ended Test And Punish today,
We could have ended their alphabet soups today,
We could have taken back our public schools today.
We should have had the whole nation here today!
Where were you today, when we had a chance to end it all?

Respectfully,
Jesse The Walking Man Turner

If you are wondering what song is in this head of mine in the AM hours of July 9, 2016...it's Wintley Phipps singing James Weldon Johnson "Lift every voice and sing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feeUVUo5xBE