Have You Ever Been Turned Away? by Milton Lee Norris

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?