< Page:The book of American negro poetry.djvu
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Joseph S. Cotter, Jr.

153

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?

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