The Book of American Negro Poetry/Is It Because I Am Black?

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3896249The Book of American Negro Poetry — Is It Because I Am Black?James Weldon JohnsonJoseph Seamon Cotter (1895-1919)

IS IT BECAUSE I AM BLACK?

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?