Answer: He was trying to show that there are various issues that come with race, which are far beyond having to live as a minority.
Explanation: The poem, From an Island you cannot name is by Martin Espada and talks about the struggle with looks. Often times, people have already formed their opinions based on societal stereotypes and prejudice without knowing the individual. The man in the poem is hurt but still trying to prove who he is as his appearance has the world looking at him as something that he is not.
He is saying that to be a specific nationality but society clumps you with a race you don't belong just because of what you look like is not something that he wants to confront, and that the issues run deeper than having to live as a minority.