Café Conversation # ENG
IIA
The Incident
By Countee Cullen
Once riding in old Baltimore,
Heart-filled, head-filled with glee,
I saw a Baltimorean
Keep looking straight at me.
Now I was eight and very small,
And he was no whit bigger,
And so I smiled, but he poked out
His tongue, and called me, 'Nigger.'
I saw the whole of Baltimore
From May until December;
Of all the things that happened there
That's all that I remember.
RESPONSE:
1. Has anyone ever called you a name? If so, how did it make you feel?
2. Do we allow other people’s perceptions of us to affect how we see ourselves?
3. Do you think that "Incident" is making an overt political comment? Or is it more focused
on the experience of one little boy? Why do you think so?
4. Can a personal experience be political? How would our speaker answer that question?
What parts of the poem give you your ideas?
5. Does the poem place blame on the young Baltimorean? How can you tell? Can a boy so
young be responsible for his prejudicial words? Why or why not?
6. Is the poem still an effective comment on racism today in the 21st century? How have
times changed? How have they not changed?
1
kmh – RCSHS
Unit 2: Warriors Don’t Cry