by | Nikki Giovanni, an acclaimed poet and fierce activist, has passed away Monday at the age of 81. At her core, Giovanni wanted everyone to know being unapologetically Black allows all of us to be proud. Giovanni is the voice of Black strength.
Yolanda Cornelia Giovanni was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, on June 7, 1943. According to her website, she grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. However, she and her sister would return to Knoxville each summer to visit their grandparents. Nikki graduated with honors in history from her grandfather’s alma mater, Fisk University.
Giovanni would publish her first poetry collection, “Black Feeling Black Talk”, in 1968. Giovanni would go become a pillar of of the Black Arts and Civil Rights Movements. She would later write “Spin a Soft Black Song” (1971) and “Ego-Tripping and Other Poems for Young People” (1973), poems and books that spoke to the youth and their issues.
Giovanni also received 27 honorary degrees and is an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.
Giovanni is survived by her wife, Virginia Fowler, her son Thomas, her granddaughter, Kai, two cousins, Haynes Ford and Allison (Pat) Ragan, and a nephew Christopher Black.
She wrote in her anthology “The Collected Poetry, 1968-1998,” these words that were quintessential to her mission:
May her legacy continue to be a blessing.
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