They say Black brothers are uneducated
All they know is the talk
At the barber shop
On the corner of 22^nd and Main
The twirling red, white, and blue
Symbolizes their American dream going down the drain
Those not at shop put in jell
Either getting pressed or doing their curls
You can't split wigs in jail
They look inside through the bars
Realizing that the next nigga ain't far
From where they are
They've long since waved goodbye
To the other side
Shaving time
As brothers at shop trim their lives
Patiently waiting because they know they are next in line
And they know that their turn in the chair will come
Because they know that the sum of dumb and slums equals guns
But they don't know the number of moons and sons
That will come before they are groomed and done
It may cost anywhere from ten to twenty
For a brother just trying to get by that's plenty
Ready to re-present themselves to a society
That fails to represent their point of view
And recognize that it is the reason
That they do the things they do
This is the one place they feel included and loved
But whether inside or out
They will always be judged
If not there yet, they are at the court getting hung
Because leisure is all they can afford
So finally on their own accord
They pick up a book or magazine to read
Because living on the block has opened their eyes to see
The atrocities committed by this country
Against our community for centuries
They begin analyzing the words of W.E.B. DuBois
And formulating their own articulate voice
It is then they realize they have a choice between
Trying to go from guilty to innocence
Or from filthy to cleanliness
Being caught by barbed wire
Or tripping over barber's wires
Being on parole
Or being on a pay roll
Being blackmailed
Or living the like a black male
The barber shop or jail?
Which is home to a black male?