Jean Toomer
PeopleTo 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.
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Nathan Pinchback Toomer was born on December 26th, 1894 in Washington, D.C.. Interestingly, he had a very mixed racial heritage, including Dutch, French, Native American, German, Jewish, and African American. His grandfather was the first governor of African-American descent. His name was unofficially changed to Eugene when his father left his mother. Although he lived in an all-white neighborhood, he attended an all-black Elementary school. He identified with both races because of his diverse heritage. He originally enrolled in an all-white high school, but finished at an all-black high school. When he graduated, he declared that he was not a member of any racial group. He attended many colleges, but never obtained a degree, receiving his training as a writer from outside lectures. After he left college, he took a job in Georgia. The racism he encountered in the South caused him to identify more with African Americans and ignited his poetry. He was also an idealist philosopher. He believed in not merely physical, but symbolical existence and was set in reconciling opposites. He had two highly publicized, interracial marriages. He experimented with many religions in his quest for enlightenment and became a religious leader, as well, eventually founding “Friends of Being.” After years of poor health, he died in 1967. His greatest work is most likely his famous first novel, Cane.
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