AllisonJoseph asks many questions in this poem about a black American and how someone from the black community is expected to speak. Some of these questions include: “Was [she] supposed to seem lazy, / dropping syllables here and there / not finishing the words but / slurring the final letters / so each sentence joined / into the next, slipping past the listener?” (34-39), and “Were certain words forbidden, / too erudite for someone whose skin / had a natural tan?” (40-42). Joseph shows his opinion in his poem. She, most likely, has had experience with people expecting her to speak like her mother and this is shown in the quote “Why don't you speak like her? / they asked her. [She] didn't look/didn't look like anything or anyone” (22-24). There are so many questions that the “black” community has that may never be able to be answered and so many conversations just waiting to happen that never will. Every time a person looks at another person, they judge whether they mean to or not. There are many stereotypes that cause some people to think in a specific way about different people. If someone has a different skin color, they may have a stereotype