By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com
Nikki Giovanni, a celebrated poet, author and activist, died at 81 years old, after a recent diagnosis of lung cancer. Giovanni died on Dec. 9.
News of the prolific writer’s death sent shockwaves through the arts and civil rights communities.
Leaders of the literary world, advocates for civil and human rights and creatives around the globe are mourning the death of Nikki Giovanni, a renowned poet, educator and public speaker. Giovanni died at 81 on Dec. 9 after being diagnosed with lung cancer earlier in the year.
(AFRO File Photo)
“She was a disruptor, a revealer, and a healer of the Black spirit,” Jan Short, a professor and Theatre Arts coordinator at Morgan State University, told the AFRO. “The first time I discovered ‘Ego-Tripping,’ I thought, ‘That’s what I want to be when I grow up.’ I wanted to be ‘bad’ enough to possess the ego. Her mission was accomplished in a stellar way and her work will remain a mecca.”
Bernice King, Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter and CEO of the King Center, shared her sentiments on Giovanni’s death on X, formerly known as Twitter. The King Center is a non-profit aiming to create a community where love prevails and injustice ceases.
“Nikki Giovanni, the legendary poet and revolutionary voice of justice, has left this earth, leaving an irreplaceable void,” said King in a statement. “Her words, bold and unapologetic, ignited movements, healed wounds and inspired generations to rise above oppression. Her passing is a profound loss to humanity, but her legacy is eternal.”
Giovanni was born in Knoxville, Tenn. on June 7, 1943, and was raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. She gained initial recognition during the Black Arts Movement in the 1960s when her poems became a voice for African Americans throughout the U.S. During that time she began to rise as a leading author and poet, earning her name as the “Poet of the Black Revolution.”
In her lifetime, Giovanni received seven NAACP Image Awards, wrote three New York and Los Angeles Times Best Sellers and became one of Oprah Winfrey’s 25 “Living Legends.” Giovanni also served as a “distinguished professor” at Virginia Tech for over three decades.
“We are deeply saddened to learn of Nikki Giovanni’s passing,” said Virginia Tech in a statement via X. “Nikki will be remembered not only as an acclaimed poet and activist but also for the legendary impact she made during her 35 years at Virginia Tech.”
At one of her final public appearances, on Nov. 1., Giovanni spoke about her hopes for the presidential election, the social climate in America and her battle with cancer.
“I don’t ever want it said that ‘she fought,’” said Giovanni, at the renaming of the Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum, an African-American history museum based in Annapolis, Md.,“I’m not fighting lung cancer, I’m trying to find a way to live with it.”
Giovanni spoke with her usual charm and wit at the ceremony.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D), who also attended the museum event, shared his thoughts on her passing on behalf of himself and Dawn Moore, the first lady of Maryland.
“Dawn and I are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Nikki Giovanni, a literary giant whose words and actions have been a powerful force for justice and empowerment,” said Moore, in a statement via Instagram. “Her words have touched countless lives and will continue to echo through generations. We are grateful for her contributions to our culture, our country and our collective consciousness. May she rest in peace.”
