Nikki Giovanni - Poem for Black Boys

            I also enjoyed reading the poem “Poem for Black Boys” by Nikki Giovanni.  In this poem Giovanni presents black boys as conventional figures.  They are in some way showing her anger from an African-American viewpoint.  This poem describes the struggle of an African-American to be acknowledged into society and treated equally.  Giovanni prepares the young boys for their future by telling them to be disobedient and infringe upon the laws since that is what everyone expects of them.  Society is classifying the African-Americans as being uneducated, treating them has people who are useless.  The society supposes that they are just a bunch of trouble makers who do not deserve to participate in normal daily activities.  The poem portrays them as being naughty pests which are only capable of doing horrible things.  The poet suggests to the boys to be strong and have faith.  They will have to invent their own games to play.  This means that the boys will need to find how to live happily regardless of what the society thinks of them.  There is a struggle for blacks to be accepted into civilization.  Giovanni wants the young black children to be themselves and not conform to what society thinks of them.  It is ok to be different from the rest of the society and what they expect out of you.  We are all different and that is what makes the world a unique place to live in.  There are many people who felt that all black children had only one destiny in life and that was to lie, cheat, and steal.  Giovanni uses games as a theme to express her ideas.  It seems as though she is using reverse psychology in explaining things to the black boys.  She reminds them to invent their own future and to be their own hero in life.  This poem shows racial labels and strains that existed during the time of this poem.  She knows that the boys are going to face many problems and have many battles to fight.  She uses a great deal of images and irony in her poems to make them so very powerful.  Giovanni is a poet who is not afraid to go against the present circumstances or put her toe over the line.  She is a very brilliant poet.  She is a very outspoken person and tells how things are.