Nikki Giovanni, acclaimed poet, civil rights activist, and icon of the Black Arts Movement, is dead. She was 81 years old.
Giovanni died on Monday (December 9th) in a Virginia hospital due to complications caused by lung cancer, according to her wife, Virginia “Ginny” Fowler.
“The acclaimed poet, Black Arts Movement icon whose poems of wit, wonder, and wisdom were celebrated in children’s books, on keynote stages and television shows, and in more than two dozen bestselling poetry collections, died peacefully on December 9, 2024, with her life-long partner, Virginia [Ginney] Fowler, by her side,” Giovanni’s friend and fellow writer Renee Watson said in a statement.
“We will forever feel blessed to have shared a legacy and love with our dear cousin,” said Allison Ragan in a statement on behalf of Giovanni’s family.
Recognized for her work on civil rights and social issues, especially concerning gender and race, the prolific iconoclast wove the fabric of the Black experience into volumes of poetry, essays, over 10 children’s books, and anthologies, according to her Virginia Tech profile where she was Emerita Professor in the Department of English.
Giovanni received a 2024 Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking for Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project. Her latest poetry collection, The Last Book, is set to be released in fall 2025.
According to The New York Times, the civil rights activist was born Yolanda Cornelia “Nikki” Giovanni in June 1943 in Knoxville, Tennessee, to Yolande and Jones “Gus” Giovanni. The family moved from Knoxville to Cincinnati.
Her father was abusive towards her mom, and that, along with her mom’s acceptance of his behavior, angered Giovanni.
At age 15, Giovanni declared she was either going to kill her dad or leave and later returned to Knoxville to live with her grandparents.
She graduated early from Austin High School and attended Fisk University, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history in 1967.
Giovanni then received a fellowship to study at the Columbia University of Fine Arts but left to pursue writing full-time.
“My dream was not to publish or to even be a writer: my dream was to discover something no one else had thought of. I guess that’s why I’m a poet. We put things together in ways no one else does,” the acclaimed poet wrote in a brief biography on her website.
“As one of the cultural icons of the Black Arts and Civil Rights Movements, she became friends with Rosa Parks, Aretha Franklin, James Baldwin, Nina Simone, and Muhammad Ali, and inspired generations of students, artists, activists, musicians, scholars, and human beings, young and old,” Renee Watson said of her friend.
Giovanni is survived by her wife, Virginia Fowler; son and granddaughter, Thomas and Kai Giovanni; cousins Allison “Pat” Regan and Haynes Ford; and nephew, Christopher Black.
EmilyCottontop sends its deepest condolences to the family during this time.
One of her many poems, which will forever live in our hearts and reflect on her life and eventual passing, reads, “I hope I die warmed by the life that I tried to live.”
