Poem:
Mulatto to His Critics, The
Author:
Joseph Seamon Cotter, Jr. (1895–1919)
[bio]
1<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> 2<author> 3 <person id="18715" sex="1" role="author"> 4 <name> 5 <firstname>Joseph Seamon</firstname> 6 <lastname>Cotter, Jr.</lastname> 7 </name> 8 <life-events> 9 <date ty="birth" circa="false" suffix="ad">1895</date> 10 <date ty="death" circa="false" suffix="ad">1919</date> 11 <text-value>(1895–1919)</text-value> 12 </life-events> 13 <biography>y</biography> 14 </person> 15</author> 16
1
Ashamed of my race?
And of what race am I?
I am many in one.
Thru my veins there flows the blood
5Of Red Man, Black Man, Briton, Celt and Scot,
In warring clash and tumultuous riot.
I welcome all,
But love the blood of the kindly race
That swarthes my skin, crinkles my hair,
10And puts sweet music into my soul.
To cite this poem:
MLA
“Mulatto to His Critics, The.”
Columbia Granger's World of Poetry Online.
2026.
Columbia University Press.
2 Sep. 2026.
<http://www.columbiagrangers.org>.
Chicago Manual of Style
“Mulatto to His Critics, The.”
Columbia Granger's World of Poetry Online.
http://www.columbiagrangers.org
(accessed September 2, 2026).
1<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
2<poem id="00000148665" titleid="00000148665P01" selectionid="00000148665" primary="y">
3 <fulltext>y</fulltext>
4 <subjects>
5 <subject id="3912">
6 <subject-name>Soul</subject-name>
7 </subject>
8 <subject id="5994">
9 <subject-name>Heritage and Heredity</subject-name>
10 </subject>
11 <subject id="2118">
12 <subject-name>Interracial Love and Marriage</subject-name>
13 </subject>
14 </subjects>
15 <sources>
16 <source id="8228">
17 <source-title>Joseph Seamon Cotter, Jr., Complete Poems</source-title>
18 </source>
19 </sources>
20 (: Variant sources/title :)
21 <sources-variant-block />
22 (:This was specifically set to the root author; change to the selection 2008-03-12 bug 0310 :)
23 <authors>
24 <author>
25 <person id="18715" sex="1" role="author">
26 <name>
27 <firstname>Joseph Seamon</firstname>
28 <lastname>Cotter, Jr.</lastname>
29 </name>
30 <life-events>
31 <date ty="birth" circa="false" suffix="ad">1895</date>
32 <date ty="death" circa="false" suffix="ad">1919</date>
33 <text-value>(1895–1919)</text-value>
34 </life-events>
35 <biography>y</biography>
36 </person>
37 </author>
38 </authors>
39 <poem-selection id="00000148665" primary="y" parent="">
40 <citation-form id="00000148665P01" poemid="00000148665" selectionid="00000148665">
41 <title id="00000148665P01">Mulatto to His Critics, The</title>
42 <firstline>Ashamed of my race?</firstline>
43 <lastline>And puts sweet music into my soul</lastline>
44 </citation-form>
45 <fulltext processed="true" processed-lines="true">
46 <stanza>
47 <line n="1">Ashamed of my race?</line>
48 <line n="2">And of what race am I?</line>
49 <line n="3">I am many in one.</line>
50 <line n="4">Thru my veins there flows the blood</line>
51 <line n="5">Of Red Man, Black Man, Briton, Celt and Scot,</line>
52 <line n="6">In warring clash and tumultuous riot.</line>
53 <line n="7">I welcome all,</line>
54 <line n="8">But love the blood of the kindly race</line>
55 <line n="9">That swarthes my skin, crinkles my hair,</line>
56 <line n="10">And puts sweet music into my soul.</line>
57 </stanza>
58 </fulltext>
59 <authors>
60 <author>
61 <person id="18715" sex="1" role="author">
62 <name>
63 <firstname>Joseph Seamon</firstname>
64 <lastname>Cotter, Jr.</lastname>
65 </name>
66 <life-events>
67 <date ty="birth" circa="false" suffix="ad">1895</date>
68 <date ty="death" circa="false" suffix="ad">1919</date>
69 <text-value>(1895–1919)</text-value>
70 </life-events>
71 <biography>y</biography>
72 </person>
73 </author>
74 </authors>
75 <other-selections-by-translator />
76 <history-count>0</history-count>
77 </poem-selection>
78 <selection-titles>
79 <selection-title id="00000148665" primary="y" parent="" order="1">
80 <citation-form id="00000148665P01">
81 <title id="00000148665P01">Mulatto to His Critics, The</title>
82 <firstline>Ashamed of my race?</firstline>
83 <lastline>And puts sweet music into my soul</lastline>
84 </citation-form>
85 <fulltext>y</fulltext>
86 </selection-title>
87 </selection-titles>
88</poem>
89
