The reviews for Countee Cullen's Color consistently praise the poet's artistic talent, with critics highlighting the lyrical quality, emotional depth, and vibrant imagery of his work.

He discusses the psychology of African Americans in his writings and gives an extra dimension that forces the reader to see a harsh reality of Americas past time.

At the time of its release Cullen was seen as an up-and-coming poet, having won his first poetry Award, the first prize at the "Federation of Women's clubs", in high school several years earlier.

He was barely twenty-one when The Shroud of Color (published in November, 1924, issue of The American Mercury) created a sensation analogous to that created by the appearance of Edna St. Vincent Millay Renascence in 1912, lifting its author at once to a position in the front rank of contemporary poets, white or black.”[4] In his review in The Washington Post, William Allen White wrote that Cullen "has written and published a volume of poetry which is clearly of a high order — musical, emotional, colorful, beautiful.

[5] In his review published in The Arizona Daily Star, Henry Leffert said that as a first book it "immediately stamps him as an authentic poet.

[6] In The St. Paul Echo review written by Carl H. Litzenberg praised Cullen's talents and said that he "has unlimited versatility, it seems, and he is able to write upon any subject from titles pertaining to the defense of his down-trodden race to light capricious love songs".

[8] Herbert S. Gorman’s The New York Times review praised Color for its exceptional lyrical quality and modern sensitivity, remarkable for a poet so young.

Though some poems reflect a race-conscious bitterness, Gorman lauded Cullen’s ability to infuse them with genuine poetic beauty, marking him as a talent to watch.