Paul Laurance Dunbar departed from traditional poetry in "We Wear the Mask". He spoke out against the social injustices and white supremacy. He also spoke honestly about the hypocrisy that he saw around him. In a nutshell, this poem is a reaction to the racism of the nineteenth century. Paul Lawrence Dunbar is the first major African American poet in America. He was part of the Harlem Renaissance and help lead the way for the later poets of the Harlem Renaissance.
