The Black Sheep, Have You Any Wool?

The poem has stayed pretty much the same for almost 300 years, its first appearance in tom thumb's pretty song book in 17 forty four. Since about the 19 eighties, various people have raised questions about whether this poem has a racial component or a connection to the atlantic slave trade. The word black has been used to describe both people of african descent and things that are thought of as evil or wicked for more than a thousand years. And then there are also other sixteenth century satires that call the cardinal by the name jack.