“Mr. Z” by M. Carl Holman

“Mr. Z” by M. Carl Holman

1              Taught early that his mother’s skin was the sign of error,

            He dressed and spoke the perfect part of honor;

            Won scholarships, attended the best schools,

            Disclaimed kinship with jazz and spirituals;

5          Chose prudent, raceless views of each situation,

            Or when he could not cleanly skirt dissension,

            Faced up to the dilemma, firmly seized

            Whatever ground was Anglo-Saxonized.

            In diet, too, his practice was exemplary:

10         Of pork in its profane forms he was wary;

            Expert in vintage wines, sauces and salads,

            His palate shrank from cornbread, yams and collards.

            He was as careful whom he chose to kiss:

            His bride had somewhere lost her Jewishness,

15         But kept her blue eyes; an Episcopalian

            Prelate proclaimed them matched chameleon.

            Choosing the right addresses, here, abroad,

            They shunned those places where they might be barred;

            Even less anxious to be asked to dine

20         Where hosts catered to kosher accent or exotic skin.

            And so he climbed, unclogged by ethnic weights,

            An airborne plant, flourishing without roots.

            Not one false note was struck—until he died:

            His subtly grieving widow could have flayed

25         The obit writers, ringing crude changes on a clumsy phrase:

            “One of the most distinguished members of his race.”

If Mr. Z is the subject of this poem, then Mr. Z tried to live the perfect life by trying to cover up his heritage. The first line of this poem suggests that he is from a non-white family and probably that his mother was black, therefore, "his mother's skin was the sign of error." Also, it can be inferred that Mr. Z is from a mixed heritage, since it is only his mother that has African American roots. By trying to set himself above the stereotypical African American descendants, Mr. Z accepted everything of the upper white class norms and dejected the African American culture of food, style, and people. 

The irony is that the poet of this poem M. Carl Holman dedicated his life to end segregation but he wrote a poem about a half black man who disdains his culture. Although I am not definitely sure about what the poet's message is, I feel like the essence of this poem is to reveal that one shouldn't try to avert his or her background. The tone of the poem emphasizes the meticulous action of Mr. Z and the great attention he gives in trying to avoid anything that was not "exemplary". The picture perfectness of the poem also places a rigidness of the conformed life Mr. Z leads. It (life) seems like a duty and a presentation rather than one that is filled with spontaneity and surprises. He follows a formula in order to cover up any criticism or prejudice from society. By "choosing the right addresses, here, abroad", Mr. Z makes sure that he is in control of his own life. His formulaic approach allows him to die with "not one false note" being struck. However, the irony comes in on the last line, "One of the most distinguished members of his race" Um... "race" <-- the way I viewed this word is that all his way of life was futile at the end. Society still cast him as a different race than the normal, let's say, white population. Am I alright to assume this? What I am trying to say is that I think the poet, in writing the last line, tried to convey the message of "embrace your heritage and don't try to live by society's standards" After all, Mr. Z failed even though he was so perfect in all he did. Tying this back to the irony I mentioned in the beginning of the paragraph, I think Holman wrote this poem as a Civil Rights activist to share the message with the fellow African Americans who were trying to assimilate with the white population. (This is all my assumption) For Civil Rights movement, it was important for the African Americans to accept their identity as proud blacks in America. Their culture, heritage, and traditions shouldn't be distasteful, no matter what the white people tried to say. Their way of life was/is beautiful, and no one should try to take it away. Therefore, Holman illustrates the message that no matter how hard you try to cover up your heritage, it is a pointless act because white people are never going to accept an African American descendant as one of their own, so it's better to live by embracing the African American culture.