Cullen wanted to be known as a poet rather than a Black poet or a poet who focuses on race. Many of his poems deal with time-honored themes such as love, religion, and death—without a racial lens. Cullen’s models were English poetry, especially the poetry of John Keats. He preferred to write in traditional forms. In this he differed from fellow Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes, who wrote experimental, free verse poems that would speak directly to African Americans.

However, Cullen also had a strong racial awareness. This could hardly be otherwise, given his early background. The Reverend Frederick A. Cullen, who adopted him when he was about 15 years old, was a prominent clergyman who was very active in the fight for racial justice. He was the main organizer of a large march that took place in Harlem in July 1917 to protest a race riot in East St Louis. He was active in other efforts to promote African American rights and became president of the Harlem branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The young Cullen must have absorbed much talk about racial topics at the family dinner table.

When Cullen began to publish his own poetry in his early 20s, he showed a marked awareness of the issue of race.