Have You Ever Been Turned Away? by Milton Lee Norris

2009-10-17T14:21:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been turned away from a door that was opened,
But once you arrived they closed it in your face?
Have you ever been turned away from a simple water fountain
Of which the water flowed, but once you arrived you were told you could not drink there?
Have you ever been turned away from a toilet which takes in waste,
Yet when you tried to expel your waste, you were told this was not for you?
Have you ever been turned away from a restaurant or diner that refused to serve you food,
And though money wasn’t a problem for it was the right color,
It was your face that was the wrong color?
Have you ever been denied a job or an education to get that job?
Have you ever been denied a seat in the theatre because you were told your place was upstairs?

And all of a sudden that balcony you loved was no longer desirable.
Have you ever been denied treatment at a hospital or clinic because they didn’t treat your kind, not your people, that would have been terrible enough, but they would not even call you a people, or a person or a name? Had they called you a name, it would have been one that you hated, or should I say used to hate, for far too many use that word now, and guess who uses it the most? Now you call each other that name, a name that once brought shame, disgrace, and ill feelings, now it’s used just as readily as one chews gum.
Have you ever been turned away?

Being Turned Away

Have You Ever Been Turned Away? by Milton Lee Norris