Nikky Finney's Dancing With Strom

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Recommended: Racism in modern days

Through the study of life and literature, one can tell that racism continues to be truly pervasive. In Nikky Finney’s “Dancing with Strom”, the reader can witness the tension that exists between the races in society today. Although the poem shows how as times progress, mentalites seem to change as well, it is evident that many African Americans, such as Nikky Finney, still live in fear of the racism that hides and lurks in the corners.
Nikky Finney was born in 1957 in a small city on the coast of South Carolina. Daughter of the first African-American Chief Justice from South Carolina and a school teacher, she was a “nose-in-book daughter,” reading and writing poetry (“About Nikky”). Her work is a rich cocktail of her parents’ histories, and …show more content…

It is a very elegant wedding; the women are “drenched in caramel, double exposed, triple cinched, ready” (Finney 63). At this wedding, the guests are lined up to dance with Strom Thurmond. Thurmond was a senator from South Carolina who was known for rejecting the Civil Rights Movement of 1957. As such, his appearance at this heavily African American wedding is quite controversial. However, the guests line up to dance with him. All the guests except for the Finney, who is true to her roots as an African American woman. Since she is educated on African American history, she makes the informed decision to not dance with the man who denied African Americans common rights to life and liberty. Throughout the poem, Finney reminisces on her history, including her family history and the history of her ancestors. As the poem closes, she remains true to her original ideals to not dance with Strom …show more content…

Instead of getting in line to dance with Strom, she refuses to “leave the porch” (64). This symbol is significant because of the historical context behind it. As Finney describes, “Enslaved Africans gifted porches to North America” (65). Their masters instructed them to construct porches as a place for them to live. However, the main purpose of the porch was to protect the house. By living on the porch, slaves could easily see trouble coming and prevent it before it struck. By mentioning the porch, Finney makes a reference to her ancestry that only furthers the fact that she knows exactly where she comes from. From this symbol, the reader can see exactly how Finney intends to treat Thurmond: as a wolf in sheep’s

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