To be a Negro in a day like this

    Demands forgiveness. Bruised with blow on blow,

Betrayed, like him whose woe dimmed eyes gave bliss

    Still must one succor those who brought one low,

To be a Negro in a day like this.

To be a Negro in a day like this

    Demands rare patience—patience that can wait

In utter darkness. ’Tis the path to miss,

    And knock, unheeded, at an iron gate,

To be a Negro in a day like this.

To be a Negro in a day like this

    Demands strange loyalty. We serve a flag

Which is to us white freedom’s emphasis.

    Ah! one must love when Truth and Justice lag,

To be a Negro in a day like this.

To be a Negro in a day like this—

    Alas! Lord God, what evil have we done?

Still shines the gate, all gold and amethyst,

    But I pass by, the glorious goal unwon,

“Merely a Negro”—in a day like this!