About Me
This song, "Alabama Bus", was taken from Deacon Larry Lawson's forthcoming cd, entitled Dea. Lawrence Lawson and B.A.S.I.C.S., "I Was Rescued." The "Bus" was conceived by Larry's older brother, John "Duke" Lawson. Larry added lyrics and vocal arrangement and the song was put to music by Larry's son, Lenny "Lac" Lawson. The background vocals were a "family affair" as well. Deacon Lawson's wife, daughters, son, in-laws and grandchildren can be heard chanting "I Don't Wanna Ride!"
Duke Lawson was inspired to write this song by the rude awakening he experienced, while on military leave, traveling through the South. He was ridiculed, harrassed, and mistreated in his native land by a White bus driver as if he was an enemy soldier. Duke had just returned from the Korean Conflict and was wearing his Marine Corps uniform. It baffled him to find that as a Black man, in the United States Marine Corps, he was "Respected everywhere in the world, except where he was born!" This ironic experience prompted him to first, channel his anger into writing a poem, and then express it as a song, at family gatherings, schools, and in church, especially during our Black History Celebrations, to educate our children, grandchildren, and young nieces and nephews!
Our hope is that as you listen, you will be reminded, or educated, about "The Old South," but in a positive way! Let's all appreciate where God has brought us from, as a nation, to overcome racism and prejudice Jim Crow laws! Never let "The Dream" be forgotten! Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said "Injustice anywhere, is a threat to Justice, everywhere!" And we truly mean, if the bus is segregated, we "Don't Wanna Ride"- no more!
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