Category Archives: God and Christ

Numerous poets called upon God in their verses, but some focused on relating God to the African American, as did some political cartoonists.

Afro-American Hymn, Or Prayer of the Oppressed (1906)

C.O.H. Thoras [?], D.C., L.L.B; Baltimore Afro-American Ledger, October 26, 1906

Tune–America

 Great God of Nations, we
 Have met to offer thee
 Our chant of praise.
 Of mercies past we sing
 Our present sorrows bring,
 And thy sure promises
 We ask--fulfill.

 Bless the race of wailing,
 Who to Thee are praying,
 Where 'ere they dwell. Continue reading →

Out of the Smoke (1917)

Geraldine M. Campbell [?]; Chicago Defender, July 21, 1917

To the God of all the heaven, to the God of just and right,
To the God of strength and power, to the God of wield and might,
To the God of ever nation, every country, every creed,
To the God that keeps a record of every act, and every deed,
   Dost Thou hear our cries and groanings,
   Dost Thou know our pains and moanings?
       How much longer must we wait?

Continue reading →

E Pluribus Unum (1917)

Edna Perry Booth, Brooklyn, N.Y.; California Eagle, August 18, 1917

I wonder if Abe Lincoln can look down from where he is
And see the things that happen in this land that once was his?
I wonder if his heart aches; if the tears bedim his eyes;
If Heaven is not quite perfect for him beyond the skies?
He must recall the message he gave us, long ago,
When he said, “God made men equal,” then helped to prove them so.
But are they equal? Are they free? And what is freedom, pray,
When some men’s souls are scarce their own in this fair land today?

So I wonder if Abe Lincoln wouldn’t like to just step down
To earth and count as nothing the loss of golden crown,
Just to show an erring people what he meant when once he said,
“Equality for each one,” be he black or white or red.
Yes, his heart must ache, and grieving must fill his soul to see
How they’ve abused his message since the days of ’63.
But patience, men–truth, crushed to earth, will surely rise again,
And never anything worth while was won, except through pain.

There’s Someone who is watching; there’s Someone taking toll;
And every unjust deed will reap, some day, a white man’s soul.
Abe Lincoln will yet see his words respected and fulfilled–
Will find the cruel slander against the dark race stilled.
Then, perhaps, we’ll boast a country that is brave and truly fee,
That upholds its own dear honor and its vaunted liberty;
Then our E Pluribus Unum will be more than empty phrase,
And our treatment of the dark race won’t besmirch the flag we raise.

[This poem appears in three categories: “God and Christ,” “Hope and the Future,” and “Injustices”

Africa (1929)

Anonymous; New York Amsterdam News, May 1, 1929

“I slept. I dreamed, I seemed to climb a hard, ascending track.
And just behind me labored one whose face was black.
I pitied him, but hour by hour he gained upon my path.
He stood beside me, stood upright, and then I turned in wrath.
‘Go back,’ I cried, ‘what right have you to stand beside me here?’
I paused, struck dumb with fear, for lo! the black man was not there–
But Christ stood in his place!
And oh! the pain, the pain, the pain that looked from that dear face.”