Walking Down Park

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1996

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Download PDF

Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Related Poems

“Dreams” by Nikki Giovanni (1968)

This poem begins with the speaker acknowledging the message that “black people aren’t / suppose to dream” (Lines 3-4). At the same time, before the speaker learned this, they had plenty of dreams. Like Giovanni, this speaker does not allow negative messaging to stop her from dreaming. Instead, she questions the messages she hears. In “Walking Down Park,” the speaker takes this questioning even further, asking what life was like before Europeans enslaved African people, finding a time in which Africans were not discouraged from following their dreams, and resurrecting that version of herself and others.

“Nikki-Rosa” by Nikki Giovanni (1968)

One stereotype of African American childhood is that it’s filled with impoverishment and sadness. In this poem, Giovanni both acknowledges and questions the stereotype. She laments that the public never talks about “how happy you were to have / your mother / all to yourself […]” (Lines 6-8), among other things. As is characteristic of Giovanni’s work, she creates an alternate narrative that subverts and expands on the one-dimensional way that African Americans are sometimes portrayed.

“Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea (We're Going to Mars)” by Nikki Giovanni (2010)

This poem is a clear example of Afrofuturism. The speaker advises Americans to look to the African American community for advice on how to handle such a long trip to such a foreign place. She makes a comparison between the trip to Mars and the forced trip from Africa to America, noting that African American people have adapted and evolved out of necessity, then projects into the future the vision that people will continue to evolve because they must. Whereas “Walking Down Park” envisions a different view of the past for African Americans and Indigenous people, this poem envisions a different future.

Further Literary Resources

Afrofuturism by PBS Digital Studios (2020)

This video offers an overview of Afrofuturism. Although the term was not coined until the 1990s, Afrofuturism appears in literature written in earlier decades. Some of the founders of Afrofuturism are Octavia Butler and Danez Smith. The roots are different in Afrofuturism from other futuristic genres. Afrofuturist literature does not only posit or describe possible future worlds with advanced science. It also posits worlds in which African Americans have a different relationship to society. In many cases, Afrofuturism posits an alternate reality in which Africa was not colonized and envisions a different future that might have resulted if African people had had a different past. “Walking Down Park” plays with these themes when the speaker asks the audience to imagine the world prior to colonization.

“We Go Forward With a Sanity and a Love” by Krista Tippet (2016)

Krista Tippet interviews Nikki Giovanni about her life’s work. She discusses her childhood in Knoxville, her “crazy” father, and how she grew up happy, in spite of her challenges. The interview gives insight into Giovanni’s belief system, her evolving relationship to white America, and her poetic process. She shares several poems that connect with “Walking Down Park” in terms of their attention to the African American experience. She reads “Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea (We’re Going to Mars),” which is a more overt example of Afrofuturism.

Why Not the Right Thing the First Time by Nikki Giovanni (2017)

In this talk, Nikki Giovanni tells a funny story about gathering 100 people together for a poetry reading when she was a younger poet. She also reads a poem from one of her first books, Black Judgment. This not only gives readers a sense of Giovanni’s early work but also her charisma and ability to gather and uplift others.

Listen to Poem

Zamiya Felton Reads “Walking Down Park” by Nikki Giovanni

Zamiya Felton, a high school student from West Mecklenburg, recites “Walking Down Park.” This is part of a competition held in North Carolina as part of Poetry Out Loud festival in 2010. It was recorded by NCARTS.