'And You Calling Me Colored?'

The origin of the poem “And You Calling Me Colored?” raises doubts. While the author is declared to be a certain Agra Gra, thought to be a child from Africa (Redbubble, N. D.), who composed this award-winning poem allegedly in 2006, there seems to be nothing written about him on the internet. This leads one to doubt the authenticity of the author, as well as the award. To prove the point, a search on Agra Gra conducted in the internet led one to more of “Agra Gra’s” works. There was nothing found about his life nor his background—where he was born, or if he was black. Further, that the poem was adjudged Best Poem for 2006 by the United Nations appears to have no basis: the United Nations website has no mention of this whatsoever. The …show more content…
These statements are all true, regardless of whoever wrote it. While the poem brings about humor on the side, its message of injustice cannot be overlooked. It was written from the point of view of someone who has experienced or has seen inequality and outright judgement based solely on the color of one’s skin. Sadly this behavior has become a paradox. An internet article entitled “Discrimination Based on Skin Color” (Wikipedia 2016), labeled this as the “Skin Color Paradox”. The skin color paradox refers to how differently African Americans are treated based on their skin color. The article cited an employment discrimination case under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In Etienne v. Spanish Lake Truck & Casino Plaza, LLC the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which determined that “an employee who was told on several occasions that her manager thought she was “too black” to do various tasks, found that the issue of the employee's skin color rather than race itself, played a key role in an employer's decision to keep the employee from advancing.” Color discrimination is only one of the many forms of prejudice. Some people go through this form of injustice because of gender biases; others, because of physical deformities or appearance; still others, because of status in society, such as the affluent versus the less privileged, even …show more content…
Any reader who would come across this well-crafted literary piece will think twice and think hard about his or her own manner of treating people of different background, religion, ethnicity, gender or societal status. Indeed it is ironic for someone to be called “colored” when all throughout his life his black skin does not turn into any other color while going through different emotions. The striking comparison to non-black people, especially Caucasians, who are “white” and go through a rainbow of colors as a different emotion is felt, just as expressed in the poem, brings about the humor. The poem scores in the hearts of all who are sensitive towards the feelings of others. It urges one to forgo a biased mentality and replace it with openness towards diversity, embracing and respecting the beauty brought about by different cultural, ethnic, and religious ideologies. It could also be communicating to all black people, reminding them of the pain they go through when treated unfairly, therefore avoiding doing the same towards others-- not looking down on people nor trampling on their self-esteem. This poem can trigger a lot of people’s emotions, thoughts and opinions about discrimination, for some of them may be sensitive to it. However, there must come a time where we should learn how to accept other people of different nationalities and races for