Carrie Parker Taylor; Chicago Defender, September 25, 1915

You complain, my brother, my lily white brother,
  Of our poor race now and then,
Yet you never have said what we should do
  To prove to you that we're men.

We've done everything so far that you've done,
  Except sit in the President's chair,
And the only reason we haven't done that
  Is because you won't let us sit there.

In every walk of life that you've been
  There's at least one of us there,
And you cannot deny but that we do
  Our work just as good and as fair.

Among the more common crafts of men,
  Such as carpenters, masons and painters,
We have quite a number, and plasterers, too,
  And many stock raisers and planters.

We have lawyers and doctors, and bankers a few,
  And teachers we have by the score.
Undertakers and merchants and manufacturers
  And preachers, we have them galore.

We have sculptors, architects, artists, and inventors,
  And poets and statesmen of fame,
Actors, orators and authors, and goodness knows what,
  For everything we do I can't name.

We print our own papers, publish our books,
  We sing and we play same as you,
And in some cases we have been known
  To compose some good music, too.

In fact, I don't know anything that you've done,
  When you've given us a chance and we've tried,
That we haven't done as well as you could,
  And sometimes some better, besides.

We've even gone farther in some things than you,
  And now we need not despair,
For, if we don't like our heads like sheep's wool,
  Why, we can straighten our hair.

You say that at least we can't change our skins?
  Well, we've knocked that in a hat,
For, by the aid of your sensual men,
  Many of us have even done that.

You say we have vices? We got them from you.
  You're all the patterns we've had,
So don't charge the race up with the misfits you see,
  Since our patterns so often were bad.

So, what more, my brother, my lily white brother,
  Must we do to prove that we're men?
If 'tis aught you can do and you'll give us a chance,
  We'll do it as good as you can.

[This poem appears in three categories: Pride and Accomplishments; Hope, Determination, and the Future; and Injustices and Burdens.]