John W. Gross Jr.; Baltimore Afro-American Ledger, August 10, 1907

Among the saying of our race,
   Suggestive and surprising;
That fill a most exalted place,
   Is "tell them we are rising."
The question asks for right and truth
   What to the North our greeting;
The answer from a Negro youth:
   "Tell them we are rising."

Within Atlanta's classic halls,
   This youth self-sacrificing;
Wrote high his name upon the walls
   His motto: "We are rising."

Out in the world he makes his mark,
   Danger and fear despising;
And soaring upward like the lark,
   My brethren "we are rising."

He meets the foe with voice and pen,
   With eloquence surprising;
Give us a chance, for we are men,
   Most surely "we are rising."
 
Rising to take our place beside
   The noble, the aspiring,
With energy and conscious pride,
   To the best things, "we are rising."

Within the class room is his place,
   Greek, Latin, criticizing,
To raise the youthful of his race,
   And show the world "we're rising."

Go forth my friend, upon your way,
   Each obstacle despising;
Prove by your effort every day,
   To all that "we are rising."

In farming, trade and literature,
   A people enterprising;
Our churches, schools and home life pure,
   Tell to the world "we're rising."