Social Commentaries
Is It Because I Am Black?
From The Band of Gideon, and Other Lyrics (1918)
Social Commentaries
Why do men smile when I speak,
And call my speech
The whimperings of a babe
That cries but knows not what it wants?
Is it because I am black?
Why do men sneer when I arise
And stand in their councils,
And look them eye to eye,
And speak their tongue?
Is it because I am black?
Cite this poem
MLA
Jr., Joseph Seamon Cotter. “Is It Because I Am Black?” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/cotter_jr/10/.
Chicago
Jr., Joseph Seamon Cotter. “Is It Because I Am Black?” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/cotter_jr/10/.
Read this poem with the Codex →