Cause there ain’t no sense
In my bein’ dead.
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You and your whole race
You and your whole race.Look down upon the town in which you liveAnd be ashamed.Look down upon white folksAnd upon yourselvesAnd be ashamedThat such supine poverty exists there,That such stupid ignorance breeds children thereBehind such humble shelters of despair—That you yourselves have not the sense to careNor the manhood to stand up and sayI dare…
Clean the spittoons, boy.
Chicago,Atlantic City,Palm Beach.Clean the spittoons.The steam in hotel kitchens,And the smoke in hotel lobbies,And the slime in hotel spittoons:Part of my life.Hey, boy!A nickel,A dime,A dollar,Two dollars a day.Hey, boy!A nickel,A dime,A dollar,Two dollarsBuy shoes for the baby.House rent to pay.Gin on Saturday,Church on Sunday.My God!Babies and gin and churchAnd women and SundayAll mixed with…
Let America be America again.
Let it be the pioneer on the plainSeeking a home where he himself is free.(America never was America to me.)Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed–Let it be that great strong land of loveWhere never kings connive nor tyrants schemeThat any man be crushed by one above.(It never was America to me.)O, let my…
In the Quarter of the Negroes
Dust of dingy atomsBlows a scratchy sound.Amorphous jack-o’-Lanterns caperAnd the wind won’t wait for midnightFor fun to blow doors down.By the river and the railroadWith fluid far-off goindBoundaries bind unbindingA whirl of whisteles blowing.No trains or steamboats going–Yet Leontyne’s unpacking.In the Quarter of the NegroesWhere the doorknob lets in LiederMore than German ever bore,Her yesterday…
By what sends
I ain’t sent:I know I can’tbe President.What don’t bugthem white kidssure bugs me:We know everybodyain’t free.Lies written downfor white folksain’t for us a-tall:Liberty And Justice–Huh!–For All?
Where is the Jim Crow section
Mister, cause I want to ride?Down South where I come fromWhite and coloredCan’t sit side by side.Down South on the trainThere’s a Jim Crow car.On the bus we’re put in the back—But there ain’t no backTo a merry-go-round!Where’s the horseFor a kid that’s black?