--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It had a fellar call Five Past Twelve. A…" description: "\"“It had a fellar call Five Past Twelve. A test look at him and say, 'Boy, you black like midnight.' Then the test take a second look and say, 'No, you ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1df/samuel-selvon-50245_time_it-had-a-fellar-call-five-past-twelve-a_919285.jpg" --- # It had a fellar call Five Past Twelve. A test look at him… ![“It had a fellar call Five Past Twelve. A test look at him and say, 'Boy, you black like midnight.' Then the test take a second look and say, 'No, you more like Five Past Twelve.” quote by Samuel Selvon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1df/samuel-selvon-50245_time_it-had-a-fellar-call-five-past-twelve-a_919285.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1df/samuel-selvon-50245_time_it-had-a-fellar-call-five-past-twelve-a_919285.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1df/samuel-selvon-50245_time_it-had-a-fellar-call-five-past-twelve-a_919285.jpg) > ““It had a fellar call Five Past Twelve. A test look at him and say, 'Boy, you black like midnight.' Then the test take a second look and say, 'No, you more like Five Past Twelve.”” [Samuel Selvon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-selvon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A man is judged by skin color, then re‑evaluated when his true character appears. **In simple terms:** First impressions can be misleading. Key Takeaway Look deeper. Themes prejudice identity perception Mood thoughtful empathetic Type literary social commentary When to use this quote - job interview - social gathering - neighborhood interaction Key Concepts sociology racial bias Questions to Reflect On - How do you confront biased remarks? - When have you changed an opinion about someone? A Different Perspective People may still cling to stereotypes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Midnight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/midnight/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Live like there's no midnight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/itsme867/live-like-there-s-no-midnight/) Itsme867 > [I've been in situations where I was 'black boy white,' or 'white boy black.' People didn't know, "Is he the whitest black person in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-michael/i-ve-been-in-situations-where-i-was-black-boy-white-or-white-boy/) [Kevin michael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-michael/) > [“If looks were to be believed, he still was just a boy. Something of my age, though from his solemn quietude, I knew he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffany-mcdaniel/if-looks-were-to-be-believed-he-still-was-just-a-boy-something-of-my/) [Tiffany McDaniel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffany-mcdaniel/) > [“It was not death, for I stood up, And all the dead lie down; It was not night, for all the bells Put out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/it-was-not-death-for-i-stood-up-and-all-the-dead-lie-down-it-was-not-2/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Fly not yet; 't is just the hour When pleasure, like the midnight flower That scorns the eye of vulgar light, Begins to bloom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/fly-not-yet-t-is-just-the-hour-when-pleasure-like-the-midnight-flower/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [“Miranda was dark, like a midnight sky. But as she fell, her eyes shone like stars themselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dyls-downs/miranda-was-dark-like-a-midnight-sky-but-as-she-fell-her-eyes-shone/) Dyls Downs > [Black is like the silence of the body after death, the close of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wassily-kandinsky/black-is-like-the-silence-of-the-body-after-death-the-close-of-life/) [Wassily Kandinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wassily-kandinsky/) > [I, however, like black. It is a color that makes me comfortable and the color with which I have the most experience. In the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-frey/i-however-like-black-it-is-a-color-that-makes-me-comfortable-and-the/) [James Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-frey/) > [I wore black until I was twenty-five, like many young people. Everybody did. It was crazy! But now, getting older, I think color does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-wore-black-until-i-was-twenty-five-like-many-young-people-everybody/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [When I do a picture and it's 90% black, like 'Bird,' I use 90% black people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/when-i-do-a-picture-and-it-s-90-black-like-bird-i-use-90-black-people/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) > [I realize that I'm black, but I like to be viewed as a person, and that's everybody's wish... I try to be a role…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jordan/i-realize-that-i-m-black-but-i-like-to-be-viewed-as-a-person-and-that/) [Michael Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jordan/) > [I always say my music is like dark blue or black, like a punch to your gut that feels really good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banks/i-always-say-my-music-is-like-dark-blue-or-black-like-a-punch-to-your/) [Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banks/) > [I wear a lot of black. Like my heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliot-sumner/i-wear-a-lot-of-black-like-my-heart/) [Eliot Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliot-sumner/) > [My love red like blood But my tears black like your heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-moye/my-love-red-like-blood-but-my-tears-black-like-your-heart/) Lauren Moye > [I am a Negro: Black as the night is black, Black like the depths of my Africa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/i-am-a-negro-black-as-the-night-is-black-black-like-the-depths-of-my/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) ## More by Samuel Selvon > [“It ain't have no place in the world that exactly like a place where a lot of men get together to look for work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-selvon/it-ain-t-have-no-place-in-the-world-that-exactly-like-a-place-where-a/) [Samuel Selvon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-selvon/) > [“Always, from the first time he went there to see Eros and the lights, that circus have a magnet for him, that circus represent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-selvon/always-from-the-first-time-he-went-there-to-see-eros-and-the-lights/) [Samuel Selvon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-selvon/) > [“Is one of those summer evenings, when it look like night would never come, a magnificent evening, a powerful evening, rent finish paying, rations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-selvon/is-one-of-those-summer-evenings-when-it-look-like-night-would-never/) [Samuel Selvon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-selvon/) > [“But big headlines in the papers every day, and whatever the newspaper and the radio say in this country, that's the people Bible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-selvon/but-big-headlines-in-the-papers-every-day-and-whatever-the-newspaper/) [Samuel Selvon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-selvon/) > [“It was a summer night: laughter fell softly: it was the sort of night that if you wasn't making love to a woman you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-selvon/it-was-a-summer-night-laughter-fell-softly-it-was-the-sort-of-night/) [Samuel Selvon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-selvon/) > [“So, cool as a lord, the old Galahad walking out to the road, with plastic raincoat hanging on the arm, and the eyes not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-selvon/so-cool-as-a-lord-the-old-galahad-walking-out-to-the-road-with/) [Samuel Selvon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-selvon/) [Explore all 7 Samuel Selvon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-selvon/) ## More Midnight quotes > [The old men of the village of Mahotière say that the Mistress of the Water is a mulatto woman. At midnight she comes out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-roumain/the-old-men-of-the-village-of-mahoti-re-say-that-the-mistress-of-the/) [Jacques Roumain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-roumain/) > [A well-fashioned day - with a beginning and an end, a purpose and a content, a color and a character, a feel and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/a-well-fashioned-day-with-a-beginning-and-an-end-a-purpose-and-a/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [“So seemed it to me, as I stood at her helm, and for long hours silently guided the way of this fire-ship on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/so-seemed-it-to-me-as-i-stood-at-her-helm-and-for-long-hours-silently/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“There is a night that never comes to an end… The clock of the world turns under its own shadow. Midnight is a moving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/there-is-a-night-that-never-comes-to-an-end-the-clock-of-the-world/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [A too closely watched flower/blossoms the wrong color./Excess attention to the jonquil/turns it gentian. Flowers/need it tranquil to get/their hues right. Some/only open at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-ryan/a-too-closely-watched-flower-blossoms-the-wrong-color-excess/) [Kay Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-ryan/) > [Perfect Night is minimalistic and that's what makes it so forceful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/perfect-night-is-minimalistic-and-that-s-what-makes-it-so-forceful/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [Scott noticed Will staring at it and grinned. "Like what you see?" Woolsey Scott asked. "I do enjoy these surprise midnight declarations. Go along,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/scott-noticed-will-staring-at-it-and-grinned-like-what-you-see/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“Don’t you dare come into my world and tell me what color the ocean is! It’s black. Black as midnight. Black and awful!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-scrieva/don-t-you-dare-come-into-my-world-and-tell-me-what-color-the-ocean-is/) [Nadia Scrieva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-scrieva/) > [“From midnight to 4: 00 AM is the loneliest time in the world. Because for those of us too sad to sleep, the only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lone-alaskan-gypsy/from-midnight-to-4-00-am-is-the-loneliest-time-in-the-world-because/) Lone Alaskan Gypsy > [I realize now that people are not thinking about you and me or caring what is said about us. They are thinking about themselves-before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/i-realize-now-that-people-are-not-thinking-about-you-and-me-or-caring/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [The Snow White the midnight the moon tales of the mechanics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marissa-meyer/the-snow-white-the-midnight-the-moon-tales-of-the-mechanics/) [Marissa Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marissa-meyer/) > [..."I ran out of stock around midnight and dropped by a place, got some Chinese." I hoped he meant takeout.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-chance/i-ran-out-of-stock-around-midnight-and-dropped-by-a-place-got-some/) [Karen Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-chance/) > [I lay down across her with my face in her breasts and my hand on her. We lay there without moving. But under us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/i-lay-down-across-her-with-my-face-in-her-breasts-and-my-hand-on-her/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“Midnight is not in everyman's reach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/midnight-is-not-in-everyman-s-reach/) [René Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) > [It waits till the midnight hour to come, to torture me for the wrong i've done. it just sits there and stares me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gnarls-barkley/it-waits-till-the-midnight-hour-to-come-to-torture-me-for-the-wrong-i/) [Gnarls Barkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gnarls-barkley/) [Browse all 808 Midnight quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/midnight/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It had a fellar call Five Past Twelve. A test look at him and say, 'Boy, you black like midnight.' 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