The Contract Says: We’d Like the Conversation to Be Bilingual

In the first stanza of Limón’s “The Contract Says…,” the speaker blatantly suggests that the author should “bring [their] brown- / ness so we can be sure to please // the funders” (Lines 1-3). This assertion establishes the practice of racial tokenism—the perfunctory effort to be inclusive to minority groups within an institution—as commonplace within the publishing industry.

Limón is critical of the fact that tokenism is simply inclusion for the sake of inclusion, a means of reaching a particular quota. Limón is particularly concerned with publishers making only a symbolic effort to share the stories of people of color, showing the world a façade of open mindedness, forward thinking, and diversity without actually changing the existing power dynamics within their institution. Limón uses irony and wit (see: Poem Analysis) to expose how visibility does not equate to accurate representation. The speaker of the poem asks invasive questions about the author’s background, crafting an assumed narrative of what minority life looks like, and thus, rendering the author of color powerless. Limón argues that authors of color are not a monolith; that they have opinions and experiences beyond that of their cultural or ethnic background.