UB In Memoriam: Legendary Trailblazer Nikki Giovanni

One of the widely read American poets, Nikki Giovanni who has spurred movements, turned hearts, and informed generations, has passed away at 81.

Nikki Giovanni died peacefully yesterday December 9th, 2024, with her life-long partner, Virginia Fowler, by her side.

“We will forever feel blessed to have shared a legacy and love with our dear cousin,” stated Allison Ragan in a statement on behalf of Giovanni’s family.

Yolande Cornelia “Nikki” Giovanni, Jr., born in Knoxville, Tennessee, was a world-renowned poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator.

Nikki Giovanni was raised in Cincinnati, Ohio where she left high school as a junior in order to attend Fisk University, a historically black institution. As an undergraduate, she became increasingly involved in politics surrounding race as well as art.

She involved herself with the Black Arts Movement and in 1964 led the organizing of the influential civil rights organization, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. As she became more active in the struggle surrounding race in the 60s she edited a student literary journal.

During this time, Giovanni began to emerge as a revolutionary Black Rights poet.

Over the past forty years, Nikki’s outspokenness, in her writing and in person, has brought the eyes of the world upon her. One of the most widely read American poets, she prides herself on being “a Black American, a daughter, a mother, a professor of English.”

Giovanni remained determined and committed as ever to the fight for civil rights and equality. Always insisting on presenting the truth as she sees it, she maintained a prominent place as a strong voice of the Black community.

Her focus is on the individual, specifically, on the power one has to make a difference in oneself, and thus, in the lives of others.

Shortly after she was awarded her B.A. in history, Giovanni borrowed money to publish her first book of poetry: “Black Feeling, Black Talk” (1968).

Let me say: I am proud to be a Black American . . . We didn’t write a constitution . . . we live one . . . We turn our faces to/ the rising sun . . . knowing . . . a New Day . . . is always . . . beginning.

Other books of poetry quickly followed including Black Judgment (1968), and Re: Creation (1970). In these first works, her motives are clear: the importance of raising awareness about the rights of African-Americans. She writes, “If the Black Revolution passes you bye it’s damned/sure/the white reaction to it won’t.” Coming from her first book of poetry, this notion of a “Black Revolution” spreads throughout her early works.

She wrote several works of nonfiction and children’s literature and made multiple recordings, including the the New York Times best seller “Bicycles: Love Poems” in 2009.

Other publications include “Make Me Rain: Poems & Prose” (2020); “Chasing Utopia: A Hybrid” (2013); and, as editor, “The 100 Best African American Poems” (2010).

She has published more than two dozen volumes of poetry, essays, and edited anthologies and 11 illustrated children’s books, including Rosa, an award-winning biography of Rosa Parks.

Her book “Racism 101” includes bold, controversial essays about the situation of Americans on all sides of various race issues.

She received nineteen honorary doctorates and a host of other awards, including “Woman of the Year” awards from three different magazines as well as Governors’ Awards in the Arts from both Tennessee and Virginia.

Her two volumes of poetry, “Love Poems” and “Blues: For All the Changes,” were both winners of the NAACP Image Award, in 1998 and 2000, respectively.

Giovanni received the 2022 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, the inaugural Rosa L. Parks Woman of Courage Award, the American Book Award, the Langston Hughes Award, the Virginia Governor’s Award for the Arts, the Emily Couric Leadership Award, a Literary Excellence Award.

She was also a seven-time recipient of the NAACP Image Award. Her autobiography, “Gemini,” was a finalist for the 1973 National Book Award. In 2004, her album, “The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection,” was a Grammy finalist for Best Spoken Word Album.

Giovanni taught writing and literature at Virginia Tech, where she was a University Distinguished Professor. As a devoted and passionate writer, teacher, and speaker, she inspired not only her students, but also readers and audiences nationwide.

During the 2020 United States presidential election, Giovanni appeared in a campaign ad for Joe Biden, reading her poem “Dream”

UB Sends Our Condolences to the Family, Friends and Fans of Legendary Quincy Jones!