April 1, 2025
Today's poem was chosen to honor Senator Cory Booker
Yesterday and today, Senator Booker has drawn upon the strength of all those who took part in the sit-ins that powered, with their quiet defiance, the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Poet and pharmacist J. Farley Ragland called people to take part in these actions in this poem, first published in the Lawrenceville (Virginia) Courier and Guide on February 17, 1960:
SIT DOWN, CHILLUN!
Sit down, chillun — sit down;
In every Jim Crow state or town,
Bear your cross and wear your crown
Sit down, Chillun, sit down.
Walk right in and take your seat!
You pay the same for what you eat,
All the world applauds your feat,
Sit down, Chillun, sit down.
Though your face is black or brown,
Smile a smile, don't frown a frown,
Right is right the whole world roun'
Sit down, Chillun, sit down.
Keep on comin' with a quiet face,
Keep on workin' to hold your place
Keep on strivin' to lift your race —
Sit down, Chillun, sit down.
For more about the Civil Rights Movement, take a look at the Civil Rights Movement Archive.