The poem
To those fixed on white, White is white, To those fixed on black, It is the same, And red is red, Yellow, yellow- Surely there are such sights In the many colored world, Or in the mind. The strange thing is that These people never see themselves Or you, or me.
Are they not in their minds? Are we not in the world? This is a curious blindness For those that are color blind. What queer beliefs That men who believe in sights Disbelieve in seers.
O people, if you but used Your other eyes You would see beings.
What does this poem mean, and how does it relate to the time period of the 1920s and the Harlem Renaissance? Some analysis would be appreciated.
I teach in a school where there are some 23 different nationalities represented. In English we have been studying Racial Prejudice, I thought this poem was apt. A lot of my students have been posing similar questions about what is colour. I will read this poem tomorrow and see what they think. Any other suggestions?