Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index I Am — Somebody is a poem by Reverend Jesse R. Jackson, of which he recited on Sesame Street in 1971. This inspiration free verse poem was unparalleled with anything ever done on children's television in content and delivery, and to an extent still is. The poem fulfilled Sesame Street 's initial curiculum of serving the under-priviliged city youth, as well as culture understanding. Kids of all races were scattered all over the Sesame Street set, on the street, benches, fire escapes, led by Jackson in the poem. The following is this poem, in the original structure as written by Reverend Jackson. Lines of "I Am/Somebody" or "But I Am/Somebody" were recited both by the children and Jesse. I Am Somebody I Am Somebody I May Be Poor But I Am Somebody I May Be Young But I Am Somebody I May Be On Welfare But I Am Somebody I May Be Small But I Am Somebody I May Make A Mistake But I Am Somebody My Clothes Are Different My Face Is Different My Hair Is Different But I Am Somebody I Am Black Brown White I Speak A Different Language But I Must Be Respected Protected Never Rejected I Am God's Child This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.