Lyrics

Here, at this final hour, in this quiet place Harlem has come to bid farewell To one of its brightest hopes Extinguished now and gone from us, forever For Harlem is where he worked And where he struggled and fought His home of homes, where his heart was And where his people are And it is, therefore, most fitting That we meet once again in Harlem To share these last moments with him The black man. Black! For Harlem has ever been gracious To those who have loved her, have fought for her And have defended her honor Even to the death It is not in the memory of man that this beleaguered, unfortunate But nonetheless, proud community has found a braver More gallant, young champion Than this Afro-American, who lies before us Black, black man, black Did you ever talk to Brother Malcolm? Did he ever touch you? Did you have him smile at you? Did you ever really listen to him? Did he ever do a mean thing? We must honor him For what he was, and is: A prince, our black shining prince