By Aria Brent
AFRO Staff Writer
abrent@afro.com
On Dec.19, friends, family, fans and community members gathered at Spring Grove Cemetery to say their final goodbyes to Nikki Giovanni. The public graveside ceremony took place in her hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, welcoming childhood friends and close relatives to commemorate the life of the legendary author.
The burial was the final part of Giovanni’s homegoing services and followed a public visitation held on Dec.14 in Blacksburg, Va., where she lived and worked for the last four decades. Her life was honored with a series of songs performed by friend and fellow Virginia Tech faculty member Gena Chandler, Ph.D, and a poem recitation from author Renée Watson.
Nikki Giovanni is now interred in Spring Grove Cemetery, located in Cincinnati, Ohio. The poet grew up in the Lincoln Heights area of the city. She was buried in Ohio on Dec. 19 after a homegoing service and public visitation on Dec.14 in Blacksburg, Va., where she served as a Virginia Tech professor for more than three decades. (AFRO Photo / Aria Brent)
“Nikki was like a second mother to me and after my mother passed we often talked about my mom and her grandmother being in heaven –bragging on us – and talking about what Black women were up to,” said Watson. “I wrote this poem for her 80th birthday, based off that conversation.”
The death of the prolific writer was felt by communities across the world. With over 20 books, and a series of recordings and tapes, along with an Emmy-award winning documentary in her name, her work is deeply valued as it upholds a rich legacy.
“Through her fearless exploration of race, identity and justice, she gave voice to the unspoken and empowered communities worldwide,” said Nate Couser, of Artist Exchange Media Hub. “Nikki’s work transcended poetry, becoming a testament to resilience and the transformative power of art. She celebrated the beauty of the Black experience and challenged us to create boldly.”
Kasiah Hampton, an artist from Cincinnati who attended Giovanni’s burial, spoke with the AFRO about why it was important that she pay her respect in person.
“It was important that I honor her life because her life’s work touched me deeply and guided me for a long time,” Hampton said. “I felt very connected to her, even more so because she’s from the same place as me. Nikki Giovanni’s work has always touched me with a lot of joy and it reminded me to see things with imagination.”
The AFRO spoke with many artists in the days following Giovanni’s Dec. 9 death. Many shared sentiments similar to Hampton.
“She’s my favorite poet. She’s a huge inspiration. I got to meet her, and it was a joy,” said Chin-Yer Wright, an award winning Baltimore-based poet. “I loved that she looked up to and honored hip-hop and younger writers as well.”
Nikki Giovanni, second daughter of Yolande Watson and Jones “Gus” Giovanni, was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, on June 7, 1943. Named for her mother and dubbed “Nikki” by her older sister, she grew up in Cincinnati and Knoxville, according to her obituary.
Giovanni’s writerly spark was ignited between the stacks of her local library, where she spent much of her time as a child.
She attended Austin High School, where her grandfather taught Latin, until the end of her junior year when she was invited to attend Fisk University as an early entrant. During this time, Nikki edited the literary magazine and reestablished a chapter of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. After graduating from Fisk, she entered Columbia University’s MFA program and self-published her first two collections of poetry.
For the next six decades, the prolific writer produced a mixture of children’s literature, poems, prose and speeches in her signature imaginative, fearless and unadulterated voice, earning her a devoted following.
In 1987, the activist and highly sought public speaker was recruited to teach creative writing and literature at Virginia Tech, retiring 36 years later.
A proud, honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, she received hundreds of awards, prizes, and 31 honorary doctorates. The most recent recognition for the Grammy nominee was a 2024 Emmy for the HBO documentary “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project.”
Giovanni is survived by her wife, Virginia Fowler; her son, Thomas Giovanni; her granddaughter, Kai Giovanni and a host of relatives and friends.
Although Giovanni’s pen is forever paused, her work will do what it’s always done: inspire people and challenge them to dream big, love hard and empower the Black community.
