Carrie Law Morgan Figgs, "The Negro's Upward Flight" (1921)
1
As the eagle soars skyward
Each day in her flight
The Negro soars upward
From darkness to light.
2
He has flown from his cabin
His banjo and pranks
To position and honor
To title and rank.
3
His brother in white
Is no longer his peer
He is the equal of any man
Found anywhere.
4
He left slavery's shore
And for knowledge he sought
Today he is a giant
In the city of thought.
5
He is not begging for favors
Along so called social lines
He wants equal rights
For this only, he pines.
6
He's a citizen in peace
He is a soldier in the war's din
But he asks for the treatment
That is given to other men.
Published in Nuggets of Gold, 1921