Separate, But Equal

A white man and a black man
On a Crescent City bus,
Pleasantly chatting together --
Just like the rest of us.
They dare not sit together,
So they sit -- one front, one back,
Because one is called a "white" man
And the other's face is black.
Thus rule the Gods of Color,
While both look above the "screen"
And laugh and talk to each other
With the symbol of hatred between.