Nikki Giovanni Analysis

The Black Arts Movement, which began in the mid-1960’s and continued until 1975, was a way for blacks to move forward in being socially engaged in an artistic way. This movement was birthed from Richard Wright’s concept of Black Power which many related to strong self- defense and strives to maintain the strength of Blackness. Many of the artists that emerged from the BAM attempted to bring forth primal level art which was easier for people to understand. There definitely was not any room for sugarcoating or indirectness in their work. These artists wanted to maintain ownership of their work so they created their own magazines, journals, radio programs and even television. They wanted it to be known that this was one of their personal forms of self-defense. It was also the most problematic era of all black literature because it was racist, sexist, and homophobic. Nikki Giovanni is recognized as one of the most important writers to come from this time period. In Nikki Giovanni’s “Nikki- Rosa”, “Beautiful Black Men”, and “Knoxville, Tennessee” she highlights all aspects of black aesthetic and ethics by using her bold and blunt attitude to portray black life during this time through her art. Though the Harlem Renaissance and the Black Arts Movement are two different eras in …show more content…
This poem revises Gwendolyn Brooks’ piece “Lovers of the Poor” giving the same theme and concept. Giovanni does a great job with showing how this family embraces how they live because they were struggling but happy. She mentions that parents made sure the children were also happy and didn’t really know they were in turmoil by saying, “…you and your sister have happy birthdays and very good christmasses…” (lines 22 – 23). Most blacks just accepted that this was the way that things had to be so they just made the best out of