Beautiful Black Men

Beautiful Black Men
(with compliments and apologies to all not mentioned by name)

i wanta say just gotta say something
bout those beautiful beautiful beautiful outasight
black men
with they afros
walking down the street
is the same ol danger
but a brand new pleasure

sitting on stoops, in bars, going to offices
running numbers, watching for their whores
preaching in churches, driving their hogs
walking their dogs, winking at me
in their fire red, lime green, burnt orange
royal blue tight tight pants that hug
what i like to hug

jerry butler, wilson pickett, the impressions
temptations, mighty mighty sly
don't have to do anything but walk
on stage
and i scream and stamp and shout
see new breed men in breed alls
dashiki suits with shirts that match
the lining that compliments the ties
that smile at the sandals
where dirty toes peek at me
and i scream and stamp and shout
for more beautiful beautiful beautiful
black men with outasight afros

By: Nikki Giovanni

Nikki Giovanni was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. Her birth name was Yolande Cornelia Giovanni Jr. Nikki Giovanni is one of the best-known African-American poets who reached prominence during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Her unique and insightful poetry testifies to her own evolving awareness and experiences: from her childhood to adulthood. Many of her poems were written during her civil rights activist days. Giovanni’s poetry expresses strong racial pride and respect for African Americans. Giovanni’s first published volumes of poetry grew out of her response to the assassinations of such figures as Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Medgar Evers, and Robert Kennedy, and the pressing need she saw to raise awareness of the dilemma and the rights of black people. By the early 1970s, Giovanni had discovered that many poems symbolizing black hate had been publisher, so in response she wrote “Beautiful Black men.” Beautiful Black Men serve as her testimony to black men and what they mean to her. She acknowledges their style and gives them the praise they deserve. I chose this poem, because the images are strong and the details display a sense of pride.