Nikki Giovanni, the renowned poet, civil rights legend, and educator who empowered generations with her fearless words and unwavering advocacy for Black America, died on Monday. She was 81.
Yolande Cornelia “Nikki” Giovanni was born on June 7, 1943, in the “Negro Wing” of Knoxville General Hospital in Tennessee to parents Yolande Cornelia Sr. and Jones “Gus” Giovanni.
She later enrolled at the historically Black Fisk University in Nashville in 1960. At Fisk, she joined the Writer’s Workshop, a space that fostered her creativity and connected her with other aspiring Black writers such as Dudley Randall, Margaret Walker, and Amiri Baraka.
“At Fisk, she found her voice — a voice that would go on to inspire the world to dream with courage, to fight with purpose, and to love without constraint,” said Fisk officials in a statement. “Through her poetry, she wove stories of Black resilience, beauty and liberation. Her spirit is forever etched into the soul at Fisk, an eternal light guiding us toward justice, creativity, and authenticity.”
Nikki Giovanni
Giovanni rose to national prominence during the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, publishing her first poetry collection Black Feeling, Black Talk in 1970. Her poetry embodied the spirit of the civil rights struggle, celebrating Black identity and perseverance. She was also known for her bold commentary on racial and social issues, earning her a reputation as one of the foremost voices of her generation.
She taught for 35 years in the English Department at Virginia Tech where she mentored dozens of students.
Dr. Angelica Witcher Walker, an assistant professor and assistant dean for student vitality at Virginia Tech’s Carillon School of Medicine, remembers her time in the Upward Bound program at Virginia Tech where Giovanni taught and retired in 2022. The two developed a relationship over the years.
“It was during a class when she read her poems and spoke of love that I truly came to admire her powerful voice, her poetry, and her activism,” said Witcher Walker. “From that moment on, I grew to deeply respect her contributions, not only to literature but also to social justice. She has been an unwavering pillar of the Virginia Tech community, and her absence will be profoundly felt.”
Dr. Warren Dockter, director of the East Tennessee History Center in Giovanni’s hometown of Knoxville, said that the acclaimed poet used her poetry, writing, and teaching to explore the Black experience, particularly that of Black women, and noted that her work addressed themes of race, gender, and family dynamics, with a focus on Appalachia, the South, and the broader United States.
“Her use of easy-to-read prose helped create an audience which broke through traditional lines of race and class, often gaining attention from scholars as well as schoolchildren,” he said.
An outspoken activist, Giovanni often used her classroom to raise awareness about issues across the American political and cultural landscape such as the importance of voting and the struggles that Black women, in particular, face with the academy.
“Nikki Giovanni has left a legacy on higher education and gave us critical and intersectional approaches that help build a foundation on how to incorporate and liberate our lives,” said Dr. Jerisha Farrer, executive director of campus culture and climate at Bradley University. “Her work continues to dive into the pockets of Womanism and how it intersects with Quare and Queer theory by amplifying voices in mediums and spaces who have been marginalized because of their sexual orientation, sexuality and gender”
Farrer recalls the time she first met Giovanni in 2020.
“She taught me that I must create a platform of self-worth, dignity and reflection for Black women and men to exist and resist in love, logic, support and to operate in these hegemonic structures and institutions we work with and in,” said Farrer.
A member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Giovanni received numerous accolades and recognitions throughout her career, including the Langston Hughes Medal and multiple NAACP Image Awards. In 2004, she earned a Grammy nomination for her spoken-word album, The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection. Most recently, she was honored with a 2024 Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking for Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project.
A forthcoming book of poetry, The Last Book, will be published in fall 2025.
Dr. Dana A. Williams, a professor of African American Literature and Dean of the Graduate School at Howard University, remembered hosting Giovanni in 2007 for the university's annual celebration of writers.
She was one of three poets Howard honored that year, along with Mari Evans and Lucille Clifton.
“Nikki Giovanni was the liveliest of the three, as I recall, but they all shared great camaraderie as Black women poets,” said Williams, who added that despite a blistering snowstorm on the day of the event, people still braved the cold weather to hear her read.
“When I helped to organize How We Do It, a craft anthology edited by Jericho Brown, we knew we had to have a Nikki Giovanni contribution. And she did, in fact, offer an essay for that book,” said Williams, who added that Giovanni's influence on contemporary poetry was profound, combining seriousness with an accessibility that made her work approachable for students.
“I can't say enough about Nikki Giovanni's impact on contemporary poetry,” said Williams. “I've taught her poetry for years. She is, at once, a serious and accessible poet. That accessibility is important when you think about the ways students tend to be intimidated by the craftsman of poetry.”
Williams added that Giovanni was one of too few poets who also figures in the public imagination.
“Her impact was outsized,” she said. “That we had the good fortune of watching her be a poet, performer, and professor for the last 50 years is something we can all be grateful for. She didn't shy away from controversy, but she also knew how to bring us together.”
