| James Weldon Johnson, ed. (1871–1938). The Book of American Negro Poetry. 1922. |
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| At the Closed Gate of Justice |
| | | James D. Corrothers |
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| 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. | 5 |
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| 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. | 10 |
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| 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. | 15 |
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| 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! | 20 |
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