Benjamin Banneker

ODE/OWED TO BENJAMIN BANNEKER

BY TY GRAY-EL

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We come to this place this hour To pay tribute to a man Whom without his craft and genius We could not enjoy this land 2

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We honor Benjamin Banneker For the services he rendered To the District of Columbia He brought prominence and splendor

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And if we made a list Of the many tools he gave us We’d see America owes him For all the labor he saved us

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He saved us with his Almanacs So the farmers owe him a debt 8

He helped us to understand The 17 year locust threat

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He taught us crop rotation Which prevented extra toil Explained water irrigation And how to replenish the soil

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His Arithmetical skills And command of astronomy Assured America’s good fortune 12

It strengthened its economy

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And two whole centuries before Einstein Theorized on relativity Mr. Banneker declared it And proved our connectivity

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He hand crafted a clock In seventeen fifty-three That for more than 50 years Measured time accurately

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And he was the first known Black Man To publicly protest slavery His indictment letter to Jefferson Proved his brilliance and his bravery

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Truth is that most who know Have always thought it a pity That our Nation’s Capital Is not named Banneker City

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Because entirely from memory Within two months of being called He mapped out all its streets 22

Its parks, its avenues, its mall

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And remember Pierre L’Enfant Was only the sketch artist 24

It was Benjamin Banneker Who was the actual Chartist

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So it is only befitting That he be immortalized With his countenance set in stone And his work sensationalized 26

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For if not for Benjamin Banneker There’s no telling where we’d be And remember he was the Black man That saved Washington, DC 28

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