In writing Black, Brown and Beige, Ellington endeavored to create a Jazz composition as sweeping as any classical work, with the following bold statement, "...unhampered by any musical form, in which I intend to protray the experiences of the colored races in America in the syncopated idiom...I am putting all I have learned into it in the hope that I shall have achieved something really worthwhile in the literature of music, and that an authentic record of my race written by a member of it shall be placed on record."
In composing "Black, Brown and Beige," Ellington aimed to create a jazz composition as expansive as any classical piece, with this assertive declaration: "...unrestricted by any musical structure, where I intend to portray the experiences of African Americans in America through syncopated music...I am incorporating everything I have learned into it with the hope that I will have accomplished something truly valuable in the realm of musical literature and that an authentic account of my race written by one of its members shall be recorded."