Source: Mireya Acierto / Getty
Poet, activist, and educator Nikki Giovanni, 81, died on December 9. Her prolific work tackled complicated subjects, including racial justice, gender equality, and sexuality tenderly for decades. She used language as a tool to inspire, celebrate, and defend Black people of all ages.
Giovanni’s unapologetic self-expression transformed lives year after year. Rooted in the civil rights movement, it guided readers through a quest for beauty and freedom for herself and her brothers and sisters.
A Voice For The Ages
She used familiar images of nature, mechanics, and astronomy to illustrate a command of romance, fragility, strength, and accountability. Sometimes, she did that in lofty ways that required select experiences to access the full power of her talents.
At other times, she distilled her poetry into packages that allowed children to sponge up her brilliance.
Giovanni was the proud product of an HBCU. She graduated from her grandfather’s alma mater, Fisk University, located in Tennessee, where Giovanni was born and spent summers with family.
She went on to teach at New Jersey’s Rutgers University and become a University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech.
A Legacy of Excellence
She earned 7 NAACP Image Awards and a Grammy nomination for her work. Her many titles, including 1997’s Love Poems and 2017’s Love Poems and A Good Cry, made her both a New York Times and Los Angeles Times best-seller many times over.
She is survived by her wife, Virginia “Ginny” Fowler, son, Thomas Watson Giovanni, and granddaughter, Kai Giovanni. No official cause of death has been released by Giovanni’s family, but her struggles with cancer were on the public record.The cherished artist reportedly received three diagnoses.
Giovanni refused to accept that Black women should be expected to set aside their dignity to support and benefit others. She believed Black women could be transcendent and progressive without being unworthy of emotional, spiritual, and financial nourishment.
Source: Photograph by Courtesy Rada Studio/HBO / Photograph by Courtesy Rada Studio/HBO
A Rejector of Breadcrumbs
Rarely a day goes by where a clip of Giovanni demanding grace, love, and support from Black men during a two-hour dialogue with James Baldwin does not tap dance down our timelines, commanding attention and appreciation.
An HBO documentary about her life and work, Going To Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, reflected her profound impact on the generations rising beneath her. Women named babies after her greatness. Students dedicated many a thesis and dissertation to her enduring influence.
Her later work displayed a vulnerability rarely afforded to Black public intellectuals.
Going To Mars immortalized Giovanni’s health struggles and her thoughts on death. She talked about her mortality matter-of-factly, viewing it with the same keen sense of observation that pierced our hearts consistently. During one scene, she pauses to share the news with a loved one, acutely aware that life has the potential to both inspire and interrupt art.
Source: Photograph by Courtesy Rada Studio/HBO / Photograph by Courtesy Rada Studio/HBO
A Bearer of Fruit
Her voice existed in a chorus alongside the late Toni Morrison, Bell Hooks, Maya Angelou, and Octavia Butler, rousing the spirits of those who saw their struggles and desires reflected in their prose and poetry. Giovanni’s legacy is reflected in the talents of Amanda Gorman, Jasmine Mans, Rachel Cargle, and Rapsody.
She was forceful but not frigid and, as a colleague dubbed her in the documentary, “polite but not friendly.”
She embraced new talents and amplified them with the power of her presence. Giovanni’s transition has struck the art world. Mans shared her feelings with HelloBeautiful following the announcement of the icon’s passing. “I am a poet because of the words scribbled by Ms. Giovanni. The words she was most unsure of became our permanence. For every midnight we have to come, there is a poem. So, I’m grateful for all she’s given,” she said in a statement.
“The loss of an artist like Nikki Giovanni isn’t just a loss for the arts world; it’s a personal loss for each of us who’ve been touched by her work. It’s a moment to reflect on the power of art to shape minds, ignite movements, and heal hearts,” Shay Wafer, Executive Director of WACO Theater Center, said in a statement to HelloBeautiful.
Our thoughts and prayers are with her loved ones.
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