Editorials

So there is this very simple poem that even a child can compose without dropping a single sweat. However, behind its plain meaning lies a very deep emotion towards unfairness and inequality in the society. The poem goes like this: 

And you calling me colored??

When I born, I black. 
When I grow up, I black. 
When I go in sun, I black. 
When I scared, I black. 
When I sick, I black. 
And when I die, I still black.
And you white people. 
When you born, you pink. 
When you grow up, you white. 
When you go in sun, you red. 
When you cold, you blue. 
When you scared, you yellow. 
When you sick, you green 
And when you die, you grey…

And you calling me colored??

Others believed that its original title was "Coloured" composed by Malcolm X also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz,  an African-American Muslim minister and advocate of human rights and equality. Nonetheless, the issue here isn’t about finding the real author of the poem. It is more about the important message and moral lesson of the composition.

Views and Opinion

The first stanza of the poem is about African-Americans, who are often referred as “Black”. It also emphasized that from birth to death, he remains black. It’s moot and academic, his colour won’t change no matter what happens.

I believe there is really nothing wrong about being called “black”. I guess it’s the misconception of the word makes it ugly since it  is used to define “impurity, darkness, death etc. “ I don’t get offended whenever someone calls me “brown” since I am proud of my South East Asian origin. 

The second stanza most probably talks the inequality and maltreatment of whites to vast African-Americans. It explains thoroughly that white men ( White Americans to be exact ) undergo different conditions in life which are being symbolized by different colours.

And you calling me colored??

And yet, white still call most African-Americans as coloured. I can see nothing wrong calling someone “black” if he came from that bracket of ancestry anyway. I just hate dubbing them coloured. It’s telling them that they are stained and that you are as white as an ivory and the purest among the purest.

Why not just treat every human as equal? Race shouldn’t be a big factor. We were colonized by whites for more than three hundred years that’s why some developed a mentality that they are more superior than other races. But that shouldn’t be the case!

White, black, yellow, brown or red, we all belong to the same species. We are all humans who have all the rights to live without worrying about being discriminated. Who in their right minds want to get discriminated and belittled?