White Man
Sure, I know you!
You’re a White Man.
I’m a Negro.
You take all the best jobs
And leave us the garbage cans to empty and
The halls to clean.
You have a good time in a big house at
Palm Beach
And rent us the back alleys
And the dirty slums.
You enjoy Rome–
And take Ethiopia.
White Man! White Man!
Let Louis Armstrong play it–
And you copyright it
And make the money.
You’re the smart guy, White Man!
You got everything!
But now,
I hear your name ain’t really White Man.
I hear it’s something
Marx wrote down
Fifty years ago–
That rich people don’t like to read.
Is that true, White Man?
Is your name in a book
Called The Communist Manifesto?
Is your name spelled
C-A-P-I-T-A-L-I-S-T?
Are you always a White Man?
Huh?
-Langston Hughes
You’re a White Man.
I’m a Negro.
You take all the best jobs
And leave us the garbage cans to empty and
The halls to clean.
You have a good time in a big house at
Palm Beach
And rent us the back alleys
And the dirty slums.
You enjoy Rome–
And take Ethiopia.
White Man! White Man!
Let Louis Armstrong play it–
And you copyright it
And make the money.
You’re the smart guy, White Man!
You got everything!
But now,
I hear your name ain’t really White Man.
I hear it’s something
Marx wrote down
Fifty years ago–
That rich people don’t like to read.
Is that true, White Man?
Is your name in a book
Called The Communist Manifesto?
Is your name spelled
C-A-P-I-T-A-L-I-S-T?
Are you always a White Man?
Huh?
-Langston Hughes