We Must Teach Them Black children leave school yearning because life-skills they’re not learning There’s a gap, a void, a chasm, there’s a hole To fill it, schools must be institutions of integrity above all else, truth must be told Our children are rebelling because the truth we are not telling History class strips them of their pride If we want them to excel historical truths we must tell protocol and politics aside If we want our young to learn their respect we must earn To stop violence schools must teach the truth Teach them race pride, give them hope a reason they should cope You’ll see a fundamental change in all our youth Teach them a sense of their self-worth, that they’re the pride of God’s good earth The violence will stop virtually over night if they are proud of their ancestors they’ll be proud future investors buying stock in everything that’s right We have the chance to save one but we must be the brave one with courage to alter, courage to make a change Our current methods are failing There’s an air of despair prevailing We must change before they’re all estranged Finally, we have to raise their self-esteem to restore that bright-eyed gleam They have to know how great they were before If they take pride in their great past they’ll start learning fast Then our greatness and our splendor they’ll restore But WE MUST TEACH THEM