Comparing The Poem 'What Do We Do With A Variation?'

‘“Diversity: the art of thinking independently together,” was something that Malcolm Forbes, a person involved in the Civil Rights Movement said. He wanted people to understand how everyone is equal, and that it doesn’t matter what is on the outside such as race, religion or culture, but the love in our hearts. Just like Forbes, other people, including poets, expressed their concerns regarding civil rights. In the poem, “What Do We do With a Variation?,” by James Berry, ties into the idea that we are all the same much like the quote by Forbes, and expresses and shows that by using questions in place of those facts. Similarly, “Democracy,” by Langston Hughes, the idea Hughes expresses is both similar to the quote and the poem by Berry, but it is more open about how things need to change, and soon, and instead of asking us when we will change such as how the other poem did, it is showing us that we need to make a change now, or there will never be a change. In both “Democracy” and the “What do we do with a Variation” they both show how rights and diversity can change a person's life, and people shouldn’t judge someone just by their looks, race or religion.

The poem “What do we do with Variation?” by James Berry mainly means, what do we do when someone different ( skin color, language, and even clothes) comes into our lives. Do we stand around and give that person 'the look'? Do we laugh as they make one mistake? Do we bully them because they are not like us? Do we force them to be like us? Or, do we stay by them through their tough times and treat them like any other human being and what is our reaction to this issue? It definitely gives off the vibe that we should be doing something to give a positive impact or change on