Black Man (song)
"Black Man" is a track on the 1976 Stevie Wonder album "Songs in the Key of Life". The song was written by Wonder and Gary Byrd. The song was written about Wonder's desire for worldwide interracial harmony, and criticism of racism, as evidenced in earlier works such as "Living for the City". The lyrics referred prominently to Crispus Attucks, widely considered the first martyr of the American Revolution. Wonder deliberately chose this theme as the United States Bicentennial was underway at the time of recording. The song uses color-based terminology; (i.e. black, red, yellow, white , brown) to describe different racial groups and although this language has become less acceptable culturally, these terms are mentioned below, as in the original form of the song, along with the activity for which the song holds each historical figure to be famous. Lyrics. The opening verses refer to 12 people, or groups of people. The second section is a call-and-response format, calling out 17 people.