Tag Archives: I Was Afraid of Malcolm

I Was Afraid of Malcolm

From the album Don’t Call Me Buckwheat (1992)
Music & Lyrics by Garland Jeffreys

I was afraid of Malcolm
Just like any white man
Between the powder of the talcum
And the color of a black man
Fee fie fo fum
I was afraid of Malcolm
And the afro picks in the sand
Just like any white man

Now I see I was dumb
I bought the whole big shebang
White man afraid of Malcolm
Hit=2 0me like a boomerang
From the fire to the frying pan
I did the ostrich too
Cassius was the better man
But I took the white man’s cue

I was afraid of Malcolm
Just like any white man
Between the powder of the talcum
And the color of the man tan
Fee fie fo fum
I was afraid of Malcolm
And the afro picks in the sand
Just like any white man

Things got better each day
I landed on my own backbone
And when I think of all the hearsay
I’m standin’ in my own skin tone
Pictured as a man of distortion
Painted as a monster in monster proportion
Changing up with every bit of information
Painting like a master in God’s creation
Where each and every one and every body is equal
Where you don’t have to wait until
You see the sequel

I was afraid of Malcolm
Just like any white man
Between the powder of the talcum
And the color of a black man
Fee fie fo fum
I was afraid of Malcolm
And the afro picks in the sand
Just like any white man



Garland Jeffreys

Garland Jeffreys

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Filed under Historic Black Politics & Figures