At Harlan, Richmond, Gastonia, Atlanta, New Orleans;
That the plants and the roads and the tools of power
Be ours:
Let us forget what Booker T. said,
"Separate as the fingers."
Let us become instead, you and I,
One single hand
That can united rise
To smash the old dead dogmas of the past--
To kill the lies of color
That keep the rich enthroned
And drive us to the time-clock and the plow
Helpless, stupid, scattered, and alone--as now--
Race against race,
Because one is black,
Another white of face.
This refers to the position of former slaves and blacks as a whole after the end of slavery. Many had been separated from their families through the slave trade, and even those who were together still struggled to find jobs and survive. 
 Yes, post Civil War African Americans were free, but with their freedom came many uncertainties. Many died from illnesses and famine, and had no income to sustain living or buy land. They had no where to turn, and no one to look to for help.
Open Letter to the South