I Am a Negro (1929)

no author; Pittsburgh Courier, February 9, 1929:

I am a Negro
Black like Ham, I’m told,
But ‘neath the black skin that covers me
Lies an unconquerable soul.

I am a Negro,
Once a slave, I sang and prayed [?]
Tho’ ‘neath cursed lashes that scarred me
I arose with a soul uncowered.

I am a Negro,
Tho’ lynched and justice from me jade,
Future years with all its torturing hell
Will find me marching upward, UNDISMAYED.