Black Man (1976)

"Black Man" was written by Stevie Wonder and Gary Byrd and published in 1976. The song is about ethnic harmony and criticises racism using colour-based terminology (via).

::: LISTEN



First man to die
For the flag we now hold high [Crispus Attucks]
Was a black man
The ground were we stand
With the flag held in our hand
Was first the red man's
Guide of a ship
On the first Columbus trip [Pedro Alonzo Nino]
Was a brown man
The railroads for trains
Came on tracking that was laid
By the yellow man

We pledge allegiance
All our lives
To the magic colors
Red, blue and white
But we all must be given
The liberty that we defend
For with justice not for all men
History will repeat again
It's time we learned
This World Was Made For All Men

(...)

This world was made for all men
God saved His world for all men
All people
All babies
All children
All colors
All races
This world's for you
And me
This world
My world
Your world
Everybody's world
This world
Their world
Our world
This world was made for all men
Hear me out...

Who was the first man to set foot on the North Pole?
Matthew Henson - a black man
Who was the first american to show the Pilgrims at Plymouth the secrets of survival in the new world?
Squanto - a red man
Who was the soldier of Company G who won high honors for his courage and heroism in World War 1?
Sing Kee - a yellow man
Who was the leader of united farm workers and helped farm workers maintain dignity and respect?
Caesar Chavez - a brown man
Who was the founder of blood plasma and the director of the Red Cross blood bank?
Dr. Charles Drew - a black man
Who was the first American heroine who aided the Lewis and Clark expedition?
Sacajewa - a red woman
Who was the famous educator and semanticist who made outstanding contributions to education in America?
Hayakawa - a yellow man
Who invented the world's first stop light and the gas mask?
Garrett Morgan - a black man
Who was the American surgeon who was one of the founders of neurosurgery?
Harvey Williams Cushing - a white man
Who was the man who helped design the nation's capitol, made the first clock to give time in America and wrote the first almanac?
Benjamin Banneker - a black man
Who was the legendary hero who helped establish the League of Iroquois?
Hiawatha - a red man
Who was the leader of the first microbiotic center in America?
Micho Kushi - a yellow man
Who was the founder of the city of Chicago in 1772?
Jean Baptiste - a black man
Who was one of the organizers of the American Indian Movement?
Denis Banks - a red man
Who was the Jewish financier who raised founds to sponsor Cristopher Columbus' voyage to America?
Lewis D. Santangel - a white man
Who was the woman who led countless slaves to freedom on the underground rairoad?
Harriet Tubman - a black woman

lyrics via



photographs of Stevie Wonder rehearsing on his piano in Los Angeles for an upcoming concert, taken by Al Satterwhite in 1974 via and via