The Tougaloo Nine

In 1961 nine students

Crossed over the boundary line

Of segregation. Those students

Have since been called the Tougaloo Nine.

A Jackson, Mississippi, library.

March 27, the day.

The long battle for civil rights

Had already been underway.

One student walked to the counter

And very politely asked for a book

That wasn't available elsewhere. Boy!

Did she get a dirty look!

The students were told they didn't belong there.

There would be trouble unless they departed.

They could go to the "colored" branch.

That is when the read-in started.

Arrested and taken to jail, the students

Couldn't call for legal assistance.

They were kept there overnight

And rudely grilled for their passive resistance.

Police were waiting with dogs by their sides

And clubs in their hands on the day of the trial

To roughen up the students' supporters

With some authoritarian bile.

In front of the library now stands

A freedom marker in recognition

Of nine who traveled the freedom trail

And faced bitter opposition.

Obstacles remain in the path.

The struggle is far from over. We must

Honor courageous people before us

And fight for laws that are fair and just.

(8-19-17) By Bob B